The Kaspersky blog post highlights that vulnerability scanners alone create an illusion of protection because they only identify flaws without ensuring their timely remediation. The number of critical vulnerabilities is rising, and the time between disclosure and exploitation is shrinking, partly due to AI advancements. Organizations often face delays at multiple stages: scanning frequency, prioritization based on incomplete data, patch deployment scheduling, and verification of patch application across all affected assets. These gaps allow attackers to exploit known vulnerabilities long after disclosure. Effective vulnerability management requires comprehensive asset inventory, risk-based prioritization, secure configuration practices, and confirmation that patches are fully applied. Kaspersky’s Vulnerability Management module automates these processes to reduce the time from vulnerability disclosure to resolution.

The impact is that organizations remain exposed to known critical vulnerabilities for extended periods despite using scanners, increasing the risk of successful cyberattacks. Attackers exploit the delays in detection, prioritization, and remediation, often targeting known rather than zero-day vulnerabilities. This prolonged exposure can lead to unauthorized access and compromise of corporate infrastructure.

The vendor advises that vulnerability scanners alone are insufficient for effective vulnerability management. Organizations should establish four key processes: comprehensive asset inventory to know all systems; risk-based prioritization considering actual infrastructure context; secure configuration management to reduce attack surfaces; and verification that patches are fully applied to all affected assets. Kaspersky’s Vulnerability Management module is recommended as a solution to automate and integrate these processes, reducing the time between vulnerability disclosure and remediation. No specific patch or fix applies as this is a process and management issue rather than a software vulnerability.