A different way to look at vulnerabilities: This is where the unified linkage model (ULM) comes in. Instead of asking, “How bad is this vulnerability on its own?” ULM asks, “What can this vulnerability affect once it starts moving?”It focuses on three kinds of relationships:Adjacency: Systems that sit side by side and can influence each other, even without direct data exchange.Inheritance: Flaws that travel downstream, like a vulnerability hidden inside an open-source library embedded in dozens of applications.Trust: Systems that depend on each other’s integrity, like identity providers, update services or CI/CD tools.When you map these relationships, you stop seeing a list of vulnerabilities and start seeing a network of pathways. Suddenly, a seemingly minor flaw can reveal a much larger story.
How vulnerabilities really move: Modern development pipelines make it incredibly easy for vulnerabilities to spread unnoticed. A flawed library pulled into a build is included in a Docker image. That image gets promoted to production. The container gains new permissions. And eventually, an external endpoint exposes it to the internet. By the time someone sees the CVE notification, the vulnerability may already be alive inside mission-critical systems.The question isn’t just “What’s the score?”, it’s “Where can this go?”
Revisiting Log4Shell through a linkage lens: Log4Shell didn’t become historic because it was technically severe. Hundreds of vulnerabilities are rated critical every year. It became historic because it was everywhere. Log4j was inherited through nested dependencies, embedded in countless libraries and trusted by systems that consumed untrusted data.It was a perfect storm of inheritance, adjacency and trust.Log4Shell taught us that a vulnerability’s true danger lies not only in what it is, but in where it lives.
What happens when we score based on linkage?: ULM doesn’t replace CVSS scores. It enhances them. It forces us to think about depth, reach and influence.A vulnerability in a retired development VM might score 9.8. However, if nothing depends on it, its real-world priority may be low.Meanwhile, a flaw in a GitHub runner that feeds production builds could score much higher when evaluated through linkage. It sits in a trusted pipeline, inherits credentials and can influence downstream systems. In a ULM view, its urgency skyrockets.A number alone can mislead. A narrative reveals risk.
How organizations can start using ULM today: This doesn’t require a massive overhaul. It starts with a mindset shift:
Map how systems connect, not just what systems exist.Look for shared components, shared identities, shared pipelines.Ask which systems others trust, depend on or inherit from.Then prioritize vulnerabilities based on where they sit in that network, especially those near identity systems, CI/CD pipelines or widely used shared services. These are the silent amplifiers.Start small. Focus on the systems with the most downstream influence. The picture will come into focus quickly.
The bottom line: Vulnerability management isn’t a numbers game. It’s a relationship game.CVSS tells us, in theory, how severe a vulnerability is. ULM helps us understand how dangerous it could be in practice. And in a world of accelerating complexity, automation and interconnected systems, that context is no longer optional.To defend our environments, we have to stop seeing vulnerabilities as dots. We have to start seeing the lines between them.That’s where the real risk lives.This article is published as part of the Foundry Expert Contributor Network.Want to join?
What happens when we score based on linkage?: ULM doesn’t replace CVSS scores. It enhances them. It forces us to think about depth, reach and influence.A vulnerability in a retired development VM might score 9.8. However, if nothing depends on it, its real-world priority may be low.Meanwhile, a flaw in a GitHub runner that feeds production builds could score much higher when evaluated through linkage. It sits in a trusted pipeline, inherits credentials and can influence downstream systems. In a ULM view, its urgency skyrockets.A number alone can mislead. A narrative reveals risk.
How organizations can start using ULM today: This doesn’t require a massive overhaul. It starts with a mindset shift:
Map how systems connect, not just what systems exist.Look for shared components, shared identities, shared pipelines.Ask which systems others trust, depend on or inherit from.Then prioritize vulnerabilities based on where they sit in that network, especially those near identity systems, CI/CD pipelines or widely used shared services. These are the silent amplifiers.Start small. Focus on the systems with the most downstream influence. The picture will come into focus quickly.
The bottom line: Vulnerability management isn’t a numbers game. It’s a relationship game.CVSS tells us, in theory, how severe a vulnerability is. ULM helps us understand how dangerous it could be in practice. And in a world of accelerating complexity, automation and interconnected systems, that context is no longer optional.To defend our environments, we have to stop seeing vulnerabilities as dots. We have to start seeing the lines between them.That’s where the real risk lives.This article is published as part of the Foundry Expert Contributor Network.Want to join?
Map how systems connect, not just what systems exist.Look for shared components, shared identities, shared pipelines.Ask which systems others trust, depend on or inherit from.Then prioritize vulnerabilities based on where they sit in that network, especially those near identity systems, CI/CD pipelines or widely used shared services. These are the silent amplifiers.Start small. Focus on the systems with the most downstream influence. The picture will come into focus quickly.
The bottom line: Vulnerability management isn’t a numbers game. It’s a relationship game.CVSS tells us, in theory, how severe a vulnerability is. ULM helps us understand how dangerous it could be in practice. And in a world of accelerating complexity, automation and interconnected systems, that context is no longer optional.To defend our environments, we have to stop seeing vulnerabilities as dots. We have to start seeing the lines between them.That’s where the real risk lives.This article is published as part of the Foundry Expert Contributor Network.Want to join?
First seen on csoonline.com
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