The vulnerability management lifecycle establishes systematic workflows for discovering security weaknesses through scanning tools, threat intelligence, and disclosures, then managing them through resolution. The cycle includes asset discovery, vulnerability detection, risk assessment based on exploitability and impact, remediation through patching or compensating controls, and verification testing. Organizations might identify thousands of vulnerabilities monthly but prioritize based on CVSS scores, asset criticality, threat context, and exposure. For example, a publicly-facing web server vulnerability with active exploits receives immediate attention over internal low-risk findings. Effective programs establish SLAs for remediation by severity, track metrics, and integrate with change management and configuration databases.