Which phase of vulnerability management deals with the actions taken for correcting the discovered vulnerability?

The remediation phase of the vulnerability management lifecycle is specifically focused on correcting discovered vulnerabilities. This phase involves the planning and execution of actions to fix the security weakness. Common remediation actions include applying vendor patches, deploying a new software version, changing system configurations, or implementing other compensating controls to eliminate or reduce the vulnerability's risk to an acceptable level.

A. Mitigation is a broader risk management term. While remediation is a form of mitigation, mitigation can also include actions that only reduce, rather than correct, a vulnerability's impact.
B. Assessment is the phase where vulnerabilities are analyzed, prioritized, and ranked based on risk. This happens before any corrective action is taken.
D. Verification is the phase that follows remediation. It involves scanning and testing to confirm that the corrective actions were successful and did not introduce new issues.

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (2013). Guide to Enterprise Patch Management Technologies (NIST Special Publication 800-40 Revision 3). Section 2.1, "Patch Management Process," outlines a lifecycle where remediation (patch installation) follows assessment and precedes verification.

2. Scarfone, K., & Mell, P. (2005). Guide to Malware Incident Prevention and Handling for Desktops and Laptops (NIST Special Publication 800-83). While focused on malware, it describes the incident response lifecycle, where the "Eradication & Recovery" phase is analogous to remediation, involving the elimination of the issue.

3. Souppaya, M., & Scarfone, K. (2013). Guide to Securing Legacy IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networks (NIST Special Publication 800-153). Section 4.3, "Vulnerability Remediation," explicitly discusses the process of correcting identified security flaws in wireless networks.