Vulnerability scanning

Definition
vulnerability scanning

"identifies hosts and host attributes (e.g., operating systems, applications, open ports), [and] also attempts to identify vulnerabilities rather than relying on human interpretation of the scanning results. Vulnerability scanning can help identify outdated software versions, missing patches, and misconfigurations, and validate compliance with or deviations from an organization’s security policy. This is done by identifying the operating systems and major software applications running on the hosts and matching them with information on known vulnerabilities stored in the scanners’ vulnerability databases."