Efficient Vulnerability Management: A Checklist for IT Security Professionals

Why a Clear Workflow is Essential for Managing Security Vulnerability Reports

In the SaaS world, ensuring platform security is more than just a technical endeavor—it’s about building and maintaining trust. Companies must actively identify vulnerabilities while working collaboratively with the security research community. Platforms like HackerOne highlight the importance of structured vulnerability disclosure programs, but even without such platforms, a clear and efficient workflow is essential.

At Manifestly, we’ve made security an ongoing responsibility. To ensure we manage vulnerability reports effectively, we developed a structured checklist within Manifestly itself. This approach empowers us to triage, resolve, and close reports with precision and transparency, all while maintaining trust with our community.

Our Manifestly Checklist for Managing Vulnerability Reports

To streamline the process of handling vulnerability reports, we rely on Manifestly’s built-in features, such as conditional logic, data collection, automated email notifications, and the summary view. These tools help us maintain an organized and transparent workflow, ensuring no detail slips through the cracks.

1. Initial Review and Triage

When a report is submitted, we launch the checklist to guide us through the following steps:

• Collect Key Details: We use Manifestly’s data collection fields to gather critical information, including the submitter’s email, descriptions of the issue, and proof-of-concept videos.
• Apply Conditional Logic: Manifestly dynamically adjusts the workflow based on the data collected:
  • For example, the step to send an acknowledgment email to the submitter is only displayed after their email address has been collected, ensuring all dependencies are met before progressing.
  • Similarly, the decision to accept or reject a report—captured through a data field—branches the checklist into mutually exclusive paths:
    • If Accepted: The checklist transitions to the resolution phase, automatically prompting steps to notify the submitter, create a tracking story in Pivotal Tracker, and begin resolution tasks.
    • If Rejected: Manifestly prompts steps to document the reason for rejection and automatically sends a notification email to the submitter.

2. Resolution Process

For accepted reports, the checklist ensures the team follows a structured approach:

• Planning and Implementation: Collect inputs on the proposed fix and link relevant resources, such as pull requests (PRs).
• Testing and Deployment: Confirm the fix is thoroughly tested in staging and deployed to production.
• Throughout this phase, automated email notifications keep submitters updated on progress.

3. Invoicing and Payment Processing

For reports eligible for rewards:

• Determine Reward Amount: Use data collection fields to document the offer and rationale.
• Request Invoice: An automated email prompts the submitter to provide invoicing details once the reward is set.
• Track Payments: The checklist monitors invoicing and payment statuses, ensuring deadlines and reminders are met.

4. Closure

The final steps focus on reflecting and improving:

• Post-Mortem Review: Document lessons learned and identify process improvements for the future.
• Summary View: Leverage Manifestly’s summary view to track the status of all reports, providing full visibility into ongoing and completed cases.

How You Can Use Manifestly Checklists to Track Vulnerability Reports

With Manifestly, creating a structured process for managing security vulnerability reports is straightforward and efficient. Our data collection fields let you capture and centralize critical information, ensuring no details are missed. You can also use conditional logic to dynamically guide your team through the process, ensuring dependencies are met before advancing to the next step.

Additionally, with role-based assignments, you can ensure that tasks are assigned to the right team members, providing accountability and clarity. These features empower teams to streamline their workflows, reduce errors, and foster better communication.

To learn more about how Manifestly enhances workflows, check out our blog post: Revolutionize Your Workflows with ChatGPT AI. It highlights how AI can further enhance the automation and efficiency of your processes.

Encouraging Responsible Disclosure

We deeply value the contributions of researchers who help us maintain a secure platform. While we don’t have a formal bug bounty program, we prioritize clear communication, offer rewards for valid reports, and aim to make the process as seamless as possible for everyone involved.

Conclusion

Effectively managing security vulnerabilities is both a science and an art. Whether you're using a platform like HackerOne or managing reports in-house, having a robust workflow ensures nothing is overlooked. Manifestly’s checklist approach not only streamlines our internal processes but also strengthens relationships with the researchers who help us maintain our platform's safety.

We hope our checklist inspires other SaaS companies to adopt similar workflows, whether with Manifestly or their own tools. Security is a shared responsibility, and every step toward better communication and efficiency contributes to a safer digital world.

Ready to transform your workflows? Try Manifestly today and see how our features can streamline your processes.