How To Perform a Network Vulnerability Assessment

Introduction to network vulnerability assessment (NVA)

In today’s digital world, where businesses rely heavily on interconnected networks to share information, manage operations, and interact with customers, cybersecurity is more critical than ever. While organizations often focus on securing their endpoints (computers, mobile devices, etc.), network devices like routers, switches, and firewalls are often overlooked. These devices are just as vulnerable to cyber threats, making it essential to protect them through network vulnerability assessment (NVA).

What is a network vulnerability assessment?

A network vulnerability assessment (NVA) is a proactive cybersecurity practice that focuses on identifying, evaluating, and prioritizing vulnerabilities within an organization's network infrastructure. It aims to detect weaknesses in devices like routers, switches, and firewalls—components that are often un-agentable and not typically covered by endpoint security tools.

Importance of network vulnerability assessment

In today’s interconnected digital landscape, network devices serve as the backbone of organizational communication and data flow. If these devices are compromised, attackers can exploit vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access, disrupt operations, or steal sensitive data. Traditional security solutions focus on endpoints, leaving these critical devices exposed. NVA addresses this gap by assessing the security posture of the entire network, not just user devices.

How does NVA work? 

Network vulnerability assessment begins with an inventory of an organization’s network infrastructure. In an ideal world this infrastructure is fully known and readily available, but in real organizations it’s often an inaccessible blob of patchy data. Organizations often leverage asset discovery tools, which collect data from multiple sources to present a unified view of their environment. With the inventory of network devices, organizations must then select a network scanning tool, which can be used to perform vulnerability assessments. They must decide on device coverage, frequency, and types of vulnerabilities to look for, as it’s not always possible to choose everything all at once due to network constraints.

The network scanner will then send probes to the network devices in order to collect information which are translated into vulnerabilities. Lastly, these vulnerabilities are aggregated and put into reports which can be shared with security teams for remediation as well as organizational leadership to evaluate their overall security posture.

Benefits of a network vulnerability assessment

Some benefits of network vulnerability assessments include:

• Broader coverage: Extends protection beyond endpoints to include switches, routers, firewalls, and other network devices.
• Enhanced security posture: Regular assessments help organizations stay ahead of potential threats by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
• Compliance: Many regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA and PCI DSS require regular vulnerability assessments as part of their compliance standards. Regular assessments ensure that organizations meet these requirements.
• Risk reduction: By identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of a successful cyber-attack, protecting sensitive data and maintaining customer trust.
• Cost efficiency: Early detection and remediation of vulnerabilities can save organizations significant costs associated with data breaches, including financial losses, legal fees, and damage to reputation.

Most common network vulnerabilities

The most common network vulnerabilities include

Vulnerable unpatched software

• Unpatched software and operating systems are among one of the most common network vulnerability exploitations
• Misconfigurations

Lack of proper access control

• Weak passwords
• Lack of access control measures like POLP and MFA

Poor network architecture

• Having open ports and services
• Inefficient network segmentation

Lack of data encryption

• Leaves data open for hackers to exploit

Human error

• Employees fall for phishing attempts, connect to unsecured networks, etc
• Due to low security awareness in company culture that can be mitigated with proper training

6 steps to perform a network vulnerability assessment

The following are the steps to follow when performing a network vulnerability assessment.

1. Plan

• Define assessment goals and scope
• Perform an audit and assess all your assets, operating systems, cloud services, and hardware, collecting as much relevant data as possible.
• Identify which software applications and devices need to be assessed
• Make a high-level schedule for vulnerability scanning. 

2. Scan for vulnerabilities

• Configure the scan
• Select the types of vulnerabilities to look for
• Set up dedicated scanners and enable firewall rules appropriately
• Set up a schedule - daily, weekly, or monthly
• Set up exclusions to protect sensitive targets
• Define credentials for systems or applications that require elevated permissions in order to find vulnerabilities
• Run the scan and monitor its progress

3. Analyze

• This phase often involves manual verification to eliminate false positives and prioritize remediation efforts
• To eliminate false positives, configure suppression rules to accept risk or account for compensating controls
• Review scan results and prioritize vulnerabilities based on their severity
• Utilize CVSS or dynamic vendor-based vulnerability severity ratings, which can take advantage of real-world customer data and threat intelligence
• Combine vulnerability severity with asset criticality for a more holistic view of risk. Focus remediation efforts on critical vulnerabilities on critical assets

4. Report

• Generate a detailed report that outlines the vulnerabilities found, their potential impact, and recommended actions for remediation. 
• This report serves as a critical tool for stakeholders to understand the security posture of the network.

5. Remediate

• Patch systems and software, change configurations, or implement new security measures

6. Reassess

• Conduct a follow-up assessment to ensure that all vulnerabilities have been successfully addressed. Either wait for the next scheduled scan to be triggered or run an on-demand scan for a quicker turnaround

Tools and techniques for network vulnerability assessment

• Vulnerability scanners: Tools such as Nessus, OpenVAS, and NMAP  are commonly used to automate the scanning process, identifying known vulnerabilities based on an updated database.
• Penetration testing: Pentesting is a more in-depth approach where ethical hackers attempt to exploit vulnerabilities, providing insights into the real-world risks posed by the vulnerabilities.
• Configuration management tools: These tools help in identifying misconfigurations within the network, which are often a significant source of vulnerabilities. SCA from Falcon Exposure Management allows customers to identify misconfigurations for compliance reasons and provide visibility into their compliance posture for different regulatory bodies like CIS, DISA, STIG, etc. 
• Patch management: Effective patch management is critical in closing known vulnerabilities, reducing the attack surface that cybercriminals can exploit.

Conclusion: A critical part of modern cybersecurity

Network Vulnerability Assessment is a crucial part of any organization's cybersecurity strategy. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, securing all aspects of your network infrastructure is essential. NVA ensures that network devices—often overlooked in traditional security measures—are fully protected, helping businesses stay ahead of potential threats.

By implementing a robust NVA solution, organizations can reduce their attack surface, safeguard critical systems, and maintain a strong defense against ever-evolving cyber threats.

Network vulnerability assessment with CrowdStrike

Falcon Exposure Management’s Network Vulnerability Assessment (NVA) capability provides a proactive, AI-powered approach to securing critical network assets, including routers, switches, and firewalls. By replacing outdated, complex scanning infrastructure with localized, continuous assessments, NVA reduces network congestion while delivering real-time risk visibility.

Powered by ExPRT.AI, Falcon Exposure Management prioritizes vulnerabilities with precision, filtering out noise and ensuring teams focus only on the most exploitable risks. Seamless integration with Falcon Fusion SOAR enables automated, real-time remediation, preventing breaches before they happen.

Why CrowdStrike for network vulnerability assessment?

• Streamlined deployment: Deploy effortlessly with a single, continuously active sensor—eliminating the need for additional scanning infrastructure while providing constant visibility and integrated endpoint detection and response (EDR).
• AI-Powered predictive prioritization: ExPRT.AI leverages real-time threat intelligence and dynamic, self-adjusting AI to pinpoint the vulnerabilities most likely to be exploited. Unlike static CVSS scores, ExPRT.AI delivers forward-looking analytics, enabling faster remediation and reduced patching fatigue—so security teams stay ahead of attackers.
• Continuous, cloud-native monitoring: Unlike traditional tools that rely on infrequent, scheduled scans, CrowdStrike’s cloud-native architecture enables frequent scanning and continuous monitoring—ensuring vulnerabilities and misconfigurations are detected and mitigated in real time.
• Comprehensive risk assessment: NVA provides a unified view of vulnerabilities, combining threat intelligence, benchmarks, and attack path analysis to identify high-risk choke points—helping security teams prioritize remediation with greater accuracy.
• Efficient, automated remediation: Falcon Exposure Management streamlines vulnerability remediation by integrating directly with Falcon Fusion SOAR, automating responses and significantly reducing time-to-fix, improving overall security posture with minimal manual effort.

With CrowdStrike’s Network Vulnerability Assessment, organizations gain real-time insights, AI-driven risk prioritization, and automated remediation—all within a single, unified platform.