Vulnerability and Patch Management Policy

Effective Date October 1, 2022 Policy Owner Information Technology Services (ITS)
Last Reviewed Date July 1, 2024 Approved By Vice President for Information Technology and CIO
Review Cycle Annual Policy Contact Information Security & Compliance Analyst

Policy Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to address how New York Tech assesses and manages technical vulnerabilities to university-owned or managed IT Resources.

Policy Scope

This policy shall apply to all members of the New York Tech community including faculty, students, administrative officials, staff, alumni, and affiliates who use, access, or otherwise employ, locally or remotely, New York Tech's IT Resources, whether individually controlled, shared, stand-alone, or networked.

Definitions

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS)
An open industry standard for assessing the severity of computer system security vulnerabilities.
Compensating Control
A data security measure designed to satisfy the requirement or other security measures deemed too difficult or impractical to implement.
Endpoint
Any system or device that stores, processes, or transmits university data.
IT Resources
New York Tech computing, networking, communications, application, and telecommunications systems, infrastructure, hardware, software, data, databases, personnel, procedures, physical facilities, cloud-based vendors, Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors, and any related materials and services.
Patch
A software update comprised of code inserted (i.e., patched) into the code of an executable program. Typically, a patch is installed into an existing software program. Patches are often temporary fixes between full releases of a software package. Patches include, but are not limited to the following:
  • Updating software
  • Fixing a software bug
  • Installing new drivers
  • Addressing new security vulnerabilities
  • Addressing software stability issues
Vulnerability
A weakness in an information system, system security procedures, internal controls, or implementation that could be exploited or triggered by a threat source.

Policy Statement

All New York Tech IT Resources are covered by this policy. Application owners and system managers are jointly responsible for the continual assessment of IT Resources under their management or supervision. All patches and configuration changes must be deployed to University-owned or managed IT Resources according to the requirements outlined below.

Requirements for Security-Related Patches

The application of security-related patches will be prioritized based on the severity of the vulnerabilities that the patch addresses. ITS shall use the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) or a directly compatible alternative to assist with prioritization. Severity scores are categorized, as follows.

Vulnerability Severity CVSS Ranking
Critical9.0 – 10.0
High7.0 – 8.9
Medium4.0 – 6.9
Low0.1 – 3.9

ITS will assign patches a priority level that takes into consideration the risk classification of each asset and the severity score. To the extent possible, the patching process will follow the general timeline in the table below unless a more specific patching procedure for a particular system is approved by the VP for IT/CIO or delegated authority.

Priority Level Patch Review Initiated Patch Completed
1 – CriticalWithin two days of patch releaseWithin one week of patch release
2 – HighWithin one week of patch releaseWithin two week of patch release
3 – MediumWithin two weeks of patch releaseWithin one month of patch release
4 – LowWithin one month of patch releaseWithin three months of patch release

Timeliness of patch management prioritization may be impacted by several factors, including but not limited to:

If a solution or remediation is not available to address a vulnerability, the VP for IT/CIO or delegated authority must approve any compensating or other mitigating controls.

Requirements for Non-Security Patches

The timely implementation of non-security related patches should be conducted to mitigate against degradation of functionality and/or interoperability. Examples of non-security patches include software updates to increase functionality. The applicable application and system owners will utilize the ITS processes and standards outlined in the ITS Change Management Policy to address the testing, deployment, and documentation of non-security patches. When feasible, non-security patches will be scheduled and applied during the weekly maintenance window (Wednesdays, between 4 – 7 a.m.).

Related Internal Policies

Regulatory References

Exceptions

Deviations from these policies, procedures, or guidelines may only be done cooperatively between ITS and the requesting entity with sufficient time to allow for appropriate risk analysis, documentation, and possible presentation to authorized university representatives. Failure to adhere to ITS written policies may be met with university sanctions.

Vulnerability Remediation Targets

The application of patches will be prioritized based on the severity of the vulnerabilities that the patch addresses. The following table defines how vulnerabilities will be ranked, prioritized, and remediated.

Priority Definition Initial Assessment Target Resolution
CriticalVulnerability that is remotely exploitable with no compensating control.Within 48 hours72 hours
HighVulnerability that is remotely exploitable with compensating controls.Within 72 hoursOne week
MediumVulnerability that is not remotely exploitable.One week30 days
LowVulnerability that cannot be immediately exploited.30 days90 days

It may be necessary to further prioritize hosts within the priority rankings above by system/data classification, compliance requirements, and pre-existing risk conditions.