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Commonly confused · Security Fundamentals & Crypto

Vulnerability vs Threat vs Risk: What's the Difference?

A vulnerability is a weakness, a threat is anything that could exploit that weakness, and risk is the likelihood and impact of a threat actually exploiting a vulnerability. Risk exists only when a threat and a vulnerability meet an asset of value.

Vulnerability

Full definition

vs

Threat

Full definition

vs

Risk

Full definition

	Vulnerability	Threat	Risk
Definition	A weakness or flaw	Potential cause of harm	Likelihood times impact of harm
Example	Unpatched web server	Ransomware group scanning the internet	Probability and cost of that server being encrypted
Can you control it?	Yes, patch or harden	Mostly no, outside your control	Yes, by treating it (mitigate, transfer, avoid, accept)
Measured by	Scanners, CVSS	Threat intelligence	Risk assessments, ALE
Formula role	Input	Input	Risk = Threat x Vulnerability (x Impact)

Remember it

The hole, the burglar, and the odds of losing the TV.

Exam tip

Expect scenario questions asking you to classify each element. Remember an exploit is the method or code that takes advantage of a vulnerability, and a threat actor is who uses it.

Tested on

CompTIA Security+ISC2 CISSP ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)ISACA CRISC CompTIA CySA+

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