You have a patching process. You almost certainly do not have a certificate inventory or a browser extension inventory.
Defender Vulnerability Management covers Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and network devices, and inventories four things most organisations have never listed: software, digital certificates, hardware and firmware, and browser extensions. Then it prioritises by what is actually being exploited rather than by CVSS score.
- Six platformsPlus network devices
- Four inventoriesSoftware, certificates, hardware, extensions
- CIS and STIGBaseline compliance measured
- Off-networkAgentless scanning without a VPN
Eight capabilities, and four of them are inventories nobody has.
Agentless scanning that works off the network
Microsoft states that built-in and agentless scanners continuously monitor and detect risk even when devices are not connected to the corporate network. That matters considerably in a market with heavy remote and hybrid working, because the traditional model of scanning what is reachable from inside the office simply misses a large part of the estate for most of the month.
A digital certificate inventory, which almost nobody has
A single central inventory of certificates installed across the organisation, identifying certificates before they expire and detecting potential vulnerabilities from weak signature algorithms. Certificate expiry is one of the most common causes of self-inflicted outage in any estate, and the usual defence is somebody remembering. This is the inventory that replaces the memory.
A browser extension inventory, with permissions and risk
A list of browser extensions installed across different browsers in your organisation, including information on each extension permissions and associated risk levels. Extensions run inside the browser with access to everything the user sees, they are installed without any approval process, and in most organisations nobody has ever produced a list of what is out there.
Hardware and firmware, organised so you can act on it
A list of known hardware and firmware organised by system model, processor and BIOS, with each view showing the vendor name, the number of weaknesses, threat insights and the number of exposed devices. Firmware vulnerabilities sit below the operating system, they are invisible to almost every other tool, and this is what turns them into something a procurement or refresh decision can be based on.
Network share assessment, which finds old mistakes
Assessment of vulnerable internal network share configuration with actionable recommendations. Shares accumulate over years, permissions are widened for a project and never narrowed, and the result is a file share that everyone in the organisation can read containing something that should never have been there. This is the assessment that surfaces it without anybody having to go looking.
Prioritisation by what is actually being exploited
Recommendations are dynamically aligned with vulnerabilities currently being exploited in the wild, correlated with endpoint detection insights to pinpoint vulnerabilities being exploited in an active breach in your organisation, and weighted towards devices with business-critical applications, confidential data or high-value users. That is a materially better ordering than patching by severity score alone.
Baseline compliance against CIS and STIG
Customisable baseline profiles measure risk compliance against established benchmarks including the Center for Internet Security benchmarks and the Security Technical Implementation Guides, with real-time monitoring of compliance and changes. For organisations that have committed to a hardening standard in a policy document, this is the mechanism that shows whether it is actually being met.
Remediation you can actually action, including blocking
A remediation task can be created in Microsoft Intune directly from a security recommendation, vulnerable applications can be blocked for specific device groups, alternate mitigations such as configuration changes are surfaced where patching is not possible, and remediation status is tracked in real time. The blocking capability is the one that matters where a patch does not exist yet.
Three different things, and organisations frequently buy the wrong one.
We offer all three and they answer different questions. Being clear about which one your situation calls for usually saves money.
- A vulnerability assessment is a point-in-time exercise producing a report of what is exposed right now, across whatever is in scope, with a remediation list. It is the right choice when you need an independent view, a specific answer for an auditor, or coverage of systems that are not Microsoft-managed endpoints.
- A penetration test is somebody attempting to chain findings into an actual compromise, with a narrative of how far they got. It answers whether your defences hold against a skilled attacker, which is a different question from what is unpatched, and it is what most regulators and enterprise clients mean when they ask for testing.
- Defender Vulnerability Management is continuous, built into the endpoint estate, and it does things neither of the others do: certificate and browser extension inventories, firmware assessment, baseline compliance monitoring, and prioritisation informed by what is being exploited in the wild right now. It is a programme rather than an engagement.
- The pattern that works is the product for continuous coverage of the endpoint estate, an assessment where you need independent breadth beyond it, and a penetration test where somebody external is asking whether you can be broken into. Each one leaves a gap the others fill.
Four things that turn a vulnerability list into fewer vulnerabilities.
We work exploited-in-the-wild first, not highest severity first
The product dynamically aligns prioritisation with vulnerabilities currently being exploited and correlates with endpoint detection to identify anything being exploited in an active breach in your environment. That ordering is far better than patching down a severity list, and it is the difference between a programme that reduces risk quickly and one that works through a backlog forever.
We start with the inventories nobody has
Certificates, browser extensions and firmware. These produce immediate, concrete, uncontested findings, they require no patching capacity to act on in many cases, and they demonstrate value in the first fortnight. An expiring certificate found six weeks early has prevented an outage, and that is an easier conversation than a CVE count.
We connect remediation to how you actually deploy
A remediation task can be created in Microsoft Intune directly from a recommendation, which closes the gap between the security team finding something and the IT team doing something. Where a patch does not exist we use application blocking for specific device groups and the alternate mitigations the product surfaces, rather than leaving the item open indefinitely.
We tell you when the assessment or the pen test is the better buy
This product covers the endpoint estate continuously and does it well. It does not replace an independent assessment across systems it cannot see, and it does not replace a penetration test where somebody is asking whether you can actually be broken into. We will say which one your situation calls for rather than defaulting to the one we are on the page for.
Six UAE situations where continuous vulnerability management earns its place.
A hybrid workforce whose devices rarely touch the office network
Traditional network scanning sees a laptop when it happens to be connected, which in a hybrid organisation might be twice a month. Agentless scanning that continues to monitor devices while they are off the corporate network is the only version of this that produces an accurate picture, and it is the single biggest coverage improvement for most organisations here.
A regulated firm with a hardening standard to evidence
Where a policy commits to a CIS benchmark or a similar standard, baseline assessment measures actual compliance and identifies drift in real time. That converts a policy statement into evidence, which is what a Central Bank review, an ISO 27001 audit or a client questionnaire is actually asking for.
An estate with hardware old enough for firmware to matter
Hardware and firmware assessment organised by system model, processor and BIOS, showing vendor, weaknesses, threat insights and exposed device counts. For organisations running machines through a long refresh cycle, this turns firmware risk into a procurement conversation with numbers attached rather than a vague concern.
A professional services firm with certificates everywhere
Client portals, internal applications, code signing and device certificates accumulate, and expiry is usually discovered by an outage. A central certificate inventory identifying certificates before they expire, and flagging weak signature algorithms, removes one of the most common causes of self-inflicted downtime.
A distributed retail or hospitality estate
Devices in many locations, limited local IT, and machines that are rarely on a network anybody scans. Continuous agentless assessment plus authenticated scan for unmanaged Windows devices gives central visibility of an estate that would otherwise only be assessed when somebody visits the site.
An organisation where staff install what they like in the browser
Which is most of them, because extension installation is not usually controlled. The extension inventory with permission detail and risk levels frequently produces the most immediately alarming finding in the whole deployment, and it is one of the few that can be acted on the same week.
What organisations actually know about their vulnerabilities.
| Feature | Vulnerability managed | Patching only | Ad hoc |
|---|---|---|---|
Operating systems patched on a schedule | Yes | Yes | Sometimes |
Third-party software inventory maintained | Yes | Partly | No |
Certificate expiry known in advance | Yes | No | No |
Browser extensions inventoried | Yes | No | No |
Firmware and BIOS assessed | Yes | No | No |
Network share configuration assessed | Yes | No | No |
Baseline compliance monitored against CIS or STIG | Yes | No | No |
Priority driven by active exploitation | Yes | No | No |
Devices covered while off the corporate network | Yes | Partly | No |
Frequency in the UAE market | Uncommon | Common | Common in SMEs |
What gets inventoried, and why each one produces a surprise.
| Inventory | The finding it typically produces | |
|---|---|---|
| Software applications | Versions in use that nobody knew were still deployed, plus install and uninstall history | |
| Digital certificates | Certificates expiring soon, and certificates using weak signature algorithms | |
| Hardware and firmware | BIOS and firmware versions with known weaknesses, grouped by model for a refresh decision | |
| Browser extensions | Extensions with far more permission than anybody would have approved | |
| Network shares | Share permissions widened for an old project and never narrowed | |
| Security baselines | Drift from the CIS or STIG standard your policy claims you meet | |
| Unmanaged Windows devices | Machines nobody was scanning, reachable through authenticated scan |
Five steps, with a visible result in the first fortnight.
- 1
Confirm entitlement and coverage
What your current licensing includes, which we check against your tenant rather than assuming, and what is in scope: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, network devices, and whether authenticated scan is needed for unmanaged Windows machines. A free trial exists where entitlement needs establishing first.
- 2
Enable and take the inventories
Software, certificates, hardware and firmware, and browser extensions, plus network share assessment. This is where the early, concrete, uncontested findings come from, and it is deliberately first because it demonstrates value before anybody has had to patch anything.
- 3
Establish the baseline standard
Customisable baseline profiles measured against CIS or STIG benchmarks, aligned to what your policy actually commits to. Then real-time monitoring of compliance and drift, which is the part that turns a one-off hardening exercise into something that stays true.
- 4
Connect remediation to Intune and agree the queue
Remediation tasks created in Intune directly from recommendations, application blocking configured for device groups where a patch does not exist, and an agreed rule that anything being exploited in the wild jumps the normal queue. Without that rule the prioritisation intelligence changes nothing.
- 5
Set the rhythm and track the trend
A recurring review of new findings, remediation progress tracked in real time, and reporting that shows the trend rather than the raw count. APIs are available where you want the data in your own dashboard alongside everything else.
What organisations ask about Defender Vulnerability Management.
Fifteen questions worth answering first.
Coverage
- Is Defender for Endpoint already deployed?This builds on the same estate.
- Do you have macOS or Linux in scope?Both are covered, and both are usually less well patched.
- Are mobile devices included?Android and iOS are covered.
- Are there unmanaged Windows devices?Authenticated scan reaches them with credentials.
- Do you have network devices to assess?They are in the stated coverage.
What you would find
- Do you have a certificate inventory today?Almost nobody does, and expiry causes outages.
- Do you know what browser extensions are installed?They run with access to everything the user sees.
- Have you ever assessed firmware and BIOS versions?Invisible to most other tooling.
- When were network share permissions last reviewed?The answer is usually never.
- Does your policy claim CIS or STIG compliance?Baseline assessment shows whether it is true.
Would anything be fixed
- Who owns patching, and do they have capacity?Findings without a fixer are a report.
- Do you use Intune for deployment?Remediation tasks can be created directly in it.
- Can you block an application if no patch exists?Supported per device group.
- Is there a maintenance window that actually happens?The most common real constraint.
- Would exploited-in-the-wild items jump the queue?That is what the prioritisation is for.
The pages around this one.
Vulnerability assessment
The point-in-time, vendor-neutral assessment across systems this product cannot see, with an independent report.
Penetration testing
Somebody attempting to chain findings into a real compromise, which is what most regulators and clients mean by testing.
Defender for Endpoint
The endpoint platform this builds on, including the plan comparison and what each tier actually gives you.
Ask for a list of every certificate in your organisation and see who can produce one.
That question, and the equivalent one about browser extensions, tends to establish the gap faster than any vulnerability count. Both inventories are available in the first fortnight of a deployment and neither requires anybody to patch anything.
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