Attack surface management vs. vulnerability management: What are the differences?

Cybercriminals constantly look for weaknesses in digital systems, putting businesses at risk. According to CISA, in 2020 alone, 18,358 new cybersecurity vulnerabilities were identified, with 10,342 classified as “critical” or “high severity.” That’s an average of 28 serious threats every day. Two key strategies help defend against these risks — attack surface management (ASM) and vulnerability management (VM). SM focuses on spotting and monitoring potential attack points across a company’s digital presence, while VM identifies and fixes known security weaknesses in IT systems. While they serve different purposes, both play an important role in cybersecurity. This article breaks down both approaches and explains what they are, how they differ, and how they work together to strengthen business security.

What is attack surface management (ASM) in cybersecurity?

Attack surface management (ASM) is a cybersecurity strategy that involves continuously scanning for weak spots in an organization’s digital presence and identifying risks before hackers can exploit them. This way, it helps businesses stay ahead of emerging threats posed by an organization’s attack surface. ASM is a proactive approach that helps organizations monitor both known and unknown assets and discover threats posed by an organization’s attack surface.

An attack surface includes all potential entry points where cybercriminals could break in or steal data. The bigger the attack surface, the easier it is for attackers to find a way in. Cybersecurity experts categorize attack surfaces into three types:

• The digital attack surface includes all the organization's hardware and software that an attacker can get access to via the internet. Cloud services, APIs, computers, smartphones, and web applications are all examples of this type of attack surface. It is often the primary focus of attackers because of how accessible these vulnerabilities are.
• The physical attack surface includes stolen or lost devices, improperly discarded hardware and all other physical security breaches. With physical access to a company device, a hacker can get a lot of its sensitive data.
• The social engineering attack surface includes human-related vulnerabilities such as phishing attacks, social engineering schemes, and other deceptive tactics used to trick employees into giving up sensitive data.

Common security risks in ASM

Cybercriminals don’t rely on just one weakness — they look for multiple vulnerabilities that, when combined, create serious security threats. Here are some of the most common risks organizations face in ASM:

• Shadow IT. Employees using unauthorized devices or software that aren’t monitored by the organization’s IT team.
• Weak passwords. Easily guessable or reused passwords that open the door for attackers to gain unauthorized access to the organization’s system.
• Unsecured APIs. Poorly protected application interfaces that provide entry points for malicious actors.
• Outdated apps and software. Older versions of software that haven’t been updated with necessary security patches.
• Coding errors. Security flaws introduced during development due to mistakes in the code.
• Misconfiguration. Incorrect security settings or permissions that leave systems exposed to hackers.
• Stolen devices. Lost or stolen laptops, phones, or USB drives that contain sensitive data.
• Improperly discarded hardware. Outdated devices or storage that aren't wiped clean before disposal.
• Passwords written on paper. A simple yet risky habit that makes sensitive information easily accessible.

What is vulnerability management (VM) in cybersecurity?

Vulnerability management (VM) is a continuous process of identifying, assessing, prioritizing, and addressing security weaknesses within an organization’s IT infrastructure. Unlike attack surface management, which focuses on potential vulnerabilities, VM deals with known weaknesses in software, hardware, and network configurations. This ongoing process helps businesses reduce the risk of cyberattacks from known vulnerabilities and prevent further damage.

Vulnerability management covers various areas of an organization's IT environment with each type targeting different components:

• Network vulnerability management focuses on securing firewalls, routers, and protocols to prevent unauthorized access.
• Application vulnerability management addresses security flaws in software, such as weak authentication and SQL injection risks.
• Cloud vulnerability management protects virtual machines, cloud services, and shared cloud resources.
• Endpoint vulnerability management secures devices like laptops, smartphones, and IoT gadgets, preventing them from being used as entry points into corporate networks.

The vulnerability management process involves four main steps:

1. Asset discovery. The step of identifying all assets within an organization’s network to understand which of them need protection.
2. Prioritization. Determining which vulnerabilities pose the highest risk and need to be tackled first. The common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) is a standard way to rate vulnerabilities based on how easy they are to exploit, their impact on data security, and the overall risk they pose to systems.
3. Resolution. An acting stage that involves addressing the identified vulnerabilities using patches, configuration changes, or other mitigation strategies.
4. Reporting. Documenting identified vulnerabilities, actions taken, and their resolution status.

What are the differences between attack surface management and vulnerability management?

Both attack surface management and vulnerability management help protect businesses from cyber threats and strengthen their security framework. However, each of these approaches focuses on different aspects. The table below shows the main differences between the two.

Scope of analysis

One of the biggest differences between attack surface management and vulnerability management is their scope of analysis. ASM takes a broad approach, continuously monitoring an organization’s entire digital footprint, including known and unknown assets, both internal and external. VM, on the other hand, focuses only on managed, predefined assets within an organization’s internal infrastructure.

ASM covers a wide range of digital assets beyond traditional IT environments, including:

• Cloud services (SaaS applications, rogue cloud instances).
• IoT devices and external-facing applications.
• APIs and third-party integrations.
• Shadow IT (unauthorized software and hardware).
• Social engineering risks (phishing threats, exposed credentials on the dark web).

ASM continuously scans for new and evolving risks, ensuring external vulnerabilities don’t expose an organization to cyber threats.

VM has a narrower, internal focus and covers only known and managed digital assets such as:

• Corporate networks.
• Servers and databases.
• Workstations and endpoint devices.

VM relies on automated vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and patch management to detect and address security flaws. However, it only covers tracked assets, so unknown or unmonitored digital assets can still be a security risk.

Security approaches

Another big difference between attack surface management and vulnerability management is how each approach addresses cybersecurity risks. ASM is a proactive security measure that aims to identify potential attack vectors before they can be exploited, while VM is a more reactive approach that focuses on addressing known security weaknesses after they’ve been discovered. With a proactive ASM approach, businesses track and discover digital assets right away, which provides a clear view of their attack surface.

Reactive VM focuses on fixing known vulnerabilities. It involves scanning for security flaws, applying patches, and updating software to close gaps that attackers could use. While VM is essential for protecting systems, it isn’t enough on its own to stop advanced cyber threats, especially those targeting unknown weaknesses.

Risk prioritization

Attack surface management and vulnerability management prioritize risks differently. ASM prioritizes risks based on external exposure and business impact, while VM uses technical scoring models like CVSS to rank vulnerabilities based on severity.

ASM risk management considers factors such as asset exposure, business impact, potential external threats, and exploitability. This approach helps security teams focus on high-risk assets that attackers are most likely to target, reducing the chances of a data breach.

VM risk management prioritizes vulnerabilities based on their severity and how easily they can be exploited. It relies on the CVSS, which assigns a severity score based on factors like exploitability, impact on data security, and availability of patches. However, VM does not consider external exposure, meaning some vulnerabilities might be addressed too late or even overlooked.

Remediation strategies

ASM and VM tackle security risks in different ways. ASM remediation strategies focus on preventing attacks by reducing the number of exposed entry points, while VM fixes known issues by patching vulnerabilities.

ASM helps businesses stay ahead of threats by removing risky or outdated assets, securing APIs, strengthening authentication, and shutting down unused systems. By cutting off potential attack paths before hackers can exploit them, ASM makes networks harder to breach.

VM remediation efforts include applying patches, updating configurations, and fixing security flaws in known systems. While these efforts keep internal networks secure, they don’t address new or hidden risks, leaving gaps that attackers could still exploit.

Toolsets

ASM and VM also use different cybersecurity tools to achieve their goals. ASM relies on automation to continuously scan and monitor an organization’s digital footprint. It uses tools like asset discovery platforms, attack surface monitoring, cloud security posture management, and external threat intelligence to detect risks instantly, uncover shadow IT, and identify exposed systems before attackers do.

Vulnerability management tools, on the other hand, can be both manual and automated. VM uses vulnerability scanners, endpoint security solutions, SIEM (security information and event management), and patch management systems to assess security flaws and apply necessary fixes within managed IT environments. While VM helps protect a company’s internal systems, it doesn’t actively monitor unknown or potential attack surfaces like ASM does.

Integration

Different security teams integrate ASM and VM more often. ASM works more for threat intelligence teams to track new cyber threats and adjust monitoring right away. It also connects with SIEM and cloud security to improve overall protection and speed up threat detection.

VM is more useful for incident response teams to fix security flaws. When a vulnerability is found, the incident response team steps in, especially if an attack is already happening. VM also ensures that patches are quickly applied to fix issues. When combined with SIEM, VM monitors vulnerabilities in real time, allowing faster responses to cyberattacks and different types of data breaches.

Implementation complexity

ASM is harder to set up because it needs continuous real-time monitoring, automation, and threat intelligence to work properly. VM is easier to implement since it follows a simple process of scanning, finding, and fixing vulnerabilities, but it covers fewer risks.

Businesses should consider their security needs and system complexity when choosing ASM, VM, or both. Combining them creates stronger protection, with ASM reducing attack risks and VM fixing known security weaknesses.

How attack surface management improves attack vector discovery compared to vulnerability management

ASM helps find attack vectors by watching both known and unknown assets across all environments. Unlike VM, which only looks at assets already identified, ASM proactively spots new risks, like exposed APIs or cloud misconfigurations. This way, it can catch potential problems across the entire digital footprint, even for assets not directly managed yet.

VM, on the other hand, focuses on known assets and uses scheduled scans, which might miss new or external attack paths. ASM’s continuous monitoring helps find vulnerabilities earlier, reducing the chance for attackers to exploit them.

How attack surface management and vulnerability management work together

ASM and VM have different focuses but work hand in hand to keep systems secure. ASM spots risks by checking the entire digital footprint, including vulnerable assets that might need data breach monitoring. Once ASM identifies these risks, VM steps in to assess and fix weaknesses in these assets, making sure the most serious threats are addressed first. Together, they cover both new risks and existing problems, creating a stronger overall security framework.

How ASM and VM work together in practice

In practice, attack surface management (ASM) and vulnerability management (VM) complement each other by working in tandem to provide a more thorough security approach:

1. ASM discovers exposed assets. It continuously scans the organization’s digital environment for exposed or forgotten assets, like old servers or misconfigured cloud resources. Then, security teams can see where the biggest risks lie.
2. ASM identifies potential attack vectors. It uncovers weak spots of the network, such as shadow IT or security gaps, which helps IT teams understand what attackers might target.
3. VM scans for vulnerabilities. Once ASM has identified the assets and risks, VM checks them for known vulnerabilities.
4. VM prioritizes remediation. VM then prioritizes the vulnerabilities based on their severity and potential impact, ensuring the most critical issues are fixed first, reducing the risk of an attack.

They provide stronger protection when used together. By combining ASM’s ability to spot attack surface risks and VM’s focus on vulnerabilities, organizations can better understand their risks and quickly respond to new threats.

Benefits of using both ASM and VM

Using attack surface management (ASM) and vulnerability management (VM) together helps organizations find, assess, and fix weaknesses in the system right away:

• Reduced attack surface. ASM finds and removes exposed assets, reducing potential entry points for attackers before they can cause harm.
• Improved security posture. ASM finds new attack risks, while VM checks for known weaknesses. Together, they give a complete and up-to-date view of an organization's security.
• Improved incident response. By combining ASM’s real-time asset discovery with VM’s vulnerability management, security teams can catch threats quickly and fix critical flaws faster, minimizing damage.
• Better risk assessment. ASM gives a broad view of external risks, while VM provides details on internal vulnerabilities. Together, they help teams prioritize the most important threats and focus on what matters most.

By combining both methods, organizations create a stronger and more proactive cybersecurity plan. They can identify and fix existing weaknesses and stop potential threats before they happen.