What is the term for applying updates to fix vulnerabilities, usually scheduled during maintenance windows?

• A. Patching
• B. Hardening
• C. Scanning
• D. Configuration Management

Answer: (A)

Applying updates to fix vulnerabilities is called patching. Patching means deploying software updates, security fixes, or hotfixes to remediate known flaws in operating systems, applications, and firmware. These updates are often scheduled during maintenance windows to minimize disruption and to allow time for testing and validation.

Hardening focuses on reducing the attack surface by adjusting configurations, removing unnecessary services, and enforcing stronger defaults, rather than applying updates. Scanning is the activity of detecting vulnerabilities rather than fixing them. Configuration management deals with maintaining consistent system configurations and tracking changes, which can include patch management but is not the act of applying updates itself.