The federal vulnerability lifecycle and the rules that govern each step
Read the steps as text
- Discover. Find every device and scan it: BOD 23-01 (every 7 and 14 days), plus reports from the public under BOD 20-01.
- Prioritize. Judge each vulnerability by four risk factors: BOD 26-04 and the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Remediate. Fix within 3, 14, or 60 days under BOD 26-04, or sooner under an emergency directive.
- Verify. Check high-risk systems for earlier compromise and keep CISA's scanning access in place.
- Detect. Endpoint detection and response (M-22-01) and logging (M-26-14) catch what patching missed.
- Respond. Report to CISA within one hour, follow CISA's playbooks and SP 800-61 Revision 3, and run the breach plan under M-17-12.
Federal vulnerability management and breach response requirements in 2026: CISA directives, OMB memos and cybersecurity rules agencies must follow
· Federal governance
Federal patching, logging and incident response rules changed in 2025 and 2026. This guide maps every rule agencies follow to find and fix vulnerabilities and respond to incidents and breaches, old and new, with the deadlines still ahead.