Patent ID: 7664845
Filing Date: 2010-02-16
Classification: G02B,G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. A system comprising: a processor; a scanning module executable by the processor to scan a target network to identify security vulnerabilities within specific host computers of the target network, wherein the scanning module is responsive to identification of a security vulnerability within a host computer by generating a vulnerability record that specifies the vulnerability and the host computer; a vulnerability record management module executable by the processor to provide functionality for assigning the vulnerability records to specific users for correction of the security vulnerabilities specified therein, and to further provide functionality for tracking a status of each such vulnerability record; and a fix verification module executable by the processor to perform a vulnerability-record-specific vulnerability test to evaluate whether the security vulnerability specified by the vulnerability record has been corrected within a corresponding host computer; wherein the system is operable such that the vulnerability record is capable of being used to track user actions taken with respect to remedying the vulnerability; wherein the vulnerability record management module is executable by the processor to inhibit closure of the vulnerability record for which the fix verification module has not yet verified correction of the security vulnerability; wherein use of the vulnerability record enables the avoidance of a rescanning of the host computer to determine whether the security vulnerability has been corrected; wherein the vulnerability record includes a plurality of fields including a user to which the vulnerability record has been assigned; wherein the scanning module tests a target host computer for each of a plurality of vulnerabilities, and the fix verification module performs the vulnerability-record-specific vulnerability test of the target host computer without re-testing for all of the plurality of vulnerabilities.