CIS · Control 7.1 · Priority: critical · Component: Protect

What this control covers

Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.

Why it matters

Risk is the language an executive team understands; this control connects technical reality to board-level decisions and budget allocation.

How to implement

AWS

Codify the policy intent as SCPs, AWS Config conformance packs, and Security Hub standards so the cloud enforces what the document says.

Azure

Codify in Azure Policy initiatives (built-in regulatory compliance for CIS, ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA) and assign at management-group level.

GCP

VM Manager (OS patch + config management) and Artifact Registry vulnerability scanning integrate with Cloud Build to block vulnerable images.

GitHub

Dependabot security updates + version updates, plus CodeQL for SAST and a renovate bot for major-version drift management.

On-premises

Maintain a policy library with a documented review cadence (annual minimum); store in your GRC tool with attestation tracking. Map each policy to controls so an audit pull cites the exact policy clause.

Evidence to collect

  • policy_document — A signed, version-controlled policy stating leadership intent and the named owner.
  • infra_scan — See the iCompaas Evidence library for the canonical source for this evidence type.

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process.

Quick checklist

  • Establish And Maintain — Vulnerability Management Process / Enterprise
  • Protect — Vulnerability Management Process / Enterprise

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