External vulnerability scanning
- Identify and patch security vulnerabilities.
- Reduce your organization’s attack surface.
- Support regulatory compliance.
KNOW THE RISKS
3 external security vulnerabilities that never stop growing
Your digital footprint is constantly expanding
As companies launch new initiatives, their digital footprint grows. This often leads to shadow IT – internet-facing assets like forgotten subdomains or web applications that the security team is unaware of.
Human error will always be your biggest weakness
Misconfigurations and simple human mistakes, like leaving default credentials unchanged or accidentally exposing data, create easy entry points for attackers to enter your network.
Outdated and vulnerable technologies are open doors
A system that is secure today can be a liability tomorrow as technologies become outdated. Meanwhile, unpatched software, known CVEs, and expired SSL certificates can leave systems exposed.
nordlayer intelligence BY nordstellar
How our vulnerability scanner works
We designed our vulnerability scanner to automatically check your network, web applications and DNS for vulnerabilities and alert you if it finds any. To better understand how it works, let's break the process into 5 main stages:
- 1
Discovering assets
Using DNS enumeration, CRT.sh scraping, and other automated processes, our vulnerability scanner will map your company's external attack surface and identify assets linked to your domains.
- 2
Scanning ports
We check all the assets related to your domain for open ports – they can expose vulnerabilities. If the scan finds an open port, it also examines what services run through it.
- 3
Identifying vulnerabilities
The next step is to check for vulnerabilities. Our platform tests detected services, web apps, and DNS configurations to identify known vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and exploitable weaknesses.
- 4
Prioritizing risks
Once vulnerabilities are found, our platform evaluates their severity, impact, and exploitability to prioritize verified risks that matter most.
- 5
Presenting results
Finally, NordLayer Intelligence delivers detailed vulnerability scan results with a prioritized list of verified risks. Each finding includes evidence and remediation guidance, so you can focus on what to fix first. You can also customize alerts according to your specific needs.
see the value
What can you detect using an external vulnerability scan?
Our external vulnerability scanner analyzes your company’s digital footprint and can detect a broad spectrum of vulnerabilities, including:
Application and web vulnerabilities
Scans for outdated software with known CVEs, injection flaws like SQLi and XSS, exposed admin panels, default credentials, and sensitive information disclosure in configuration files.
Network vulnerabilities
Tests network services for exploitable flaws and outdated software versions with known CVEs by actively sending requests to identify issues like anonymous FTP access or buffer overflow vulnerabilities.
DNS vulnerabilities
Checks for DNS misconfigurations, subdomain takeover risks, and unauthorized zone transfers, and also analyzes email security records like SPF and DMARC to detect weaknesses that could allow for spoofing.
getting started
How to scan vulnerabilities with NordLayer Intelligence by NordStellar
Add your core assets
Start by providing your company's primary assets, such as domains, IP addresses, and emails. The platform uses this initial information as the foundation for discovery.
Scan your attack surface
Our scanner automatically discovers all related external assets, like subdomains and IP addresses, to map your complete attack surface. You can then run scans on-demand or set up automated weekly schedules for continuous analysis.
Monitor and remediate
Receive a prioritized list of verified vulnerabilities so your team knows what to fix first. Customize alerts by risk level and type to stay informed about emerging threats and take immediate action.
the benefits
What value will you gain from our external vulnerability scanner?
The external vulnerability scanner helps your company reduce its attack surface and improve its security posture. Here’s how:
Uncover your complete attack surface
Continuously discover and map your entire digital footprint, including forgotten subdomains and unknown shadow IT assets, to eliminate critical security blind spots.
Focus on what matters most
Cut through the noise with a prioritized list of verified vulnerabilities. We actively test for exploitable risks, providing clear remediation steps so your team can fix the most critical issues first.
Simplify your compliance journey
Use regular external vulnerability reports to demonstrate your resilience against cyber threats and strengthen your compliance with various industry frameworks and regulations.
Find and fix the external assets putting you at risk
Keep your business data safe and close the gaps you didn’t even know you had with our external vulnerability scanner.
Trusted by IT and security teams across the globe
NordLayer Intelligence’s threat exposure management platform has earned praise from both the organizations we serve and independent cybersecurity experts.
I honestly believe that this tool is essential for every company. The platform's user-friendly interface and proactive threat detection have significantly enhanced our organization's security posture. The team behind NordStellar is amazing as well, and addresses our feedback very promptly and professionally.
Senior Offensive Security Engineer
After putting NordStellar through its paces, I can confidently say it’s up to the challenge. Cyber threats today are relentless, and many solutions simply don’t go far enough. But NordStellar stands out. Its dark web monitoring, instant alerts, and advanced threat detection go beyond the basics, equipping businesses with the tools they genuinely need to stay ahead. In a world where basic security falls short, NordStellar offers a proactive, reliable approach that I’d trust to protect critical data and tackle real-world cyber risks.
Lead Writer
NordStellar provides great insights on threats out there, especially in environments where you have no control. It is also important that the team behind the product listens to the feedback and finds a way to solve the issues. Over a short period, the tool became much more usable, and new sources were added. All you need to do is to provide the company domain, and you are ready to go. I'm really happy about this purchase.
Director of Information Security
The platform's real-time alerts and big data analysis provide invaluable insights into risks, especially from lesser-known sources.
Director of Information Security
The platform offers a user-friendly interface that makes navigation seamless and enjoyable. Additionally, it provides a wide range of features and tools that help enhance your organizations security posture. The integration also seems pretty straightforward.
Senior Risk Manager
beyond external vulnerability scanning
Explore more NordLayer Intelligence solutions
Attack surface management
Monitors internet-facing assets, such as domains, IP addresses, open ports, and outdated technologies, to identify exposed services, misconfigurations, and other security gaps. It also helps detect and verify vulnerabilities, giving your team clearer visibility into external risk before it can be exploited.
Dark web monitoring
Detects leaked data and company mentions across hidden online spaces, such as hacker forums, illicit marketplaces, and private Telegram channels. It helps you identify threats targeting your business in real time and protect exposed consumer and employee information before it can be exploited.
Data breach monitoring
Scans the deep and dark web for leaked sensitive information associated with your business, reviewing infostealer malware logs, leaked databases, and stolen credentials. It provides real-time alerts and full context on past and ongoing attacks to help minimize the risk of ransomware and account takeovers.
Brand protection
Identifies brand misuse and online impersonation across the web, social platforms, and app stores, and enables the quick removal of fraudulent content. It helps protect your company’s reputation and maintain customer trust, offering a detailed view of each potential threat.
Additional info
Frequently asked questions
External vulnerability scanning is a process that helps detect flaws in the internet-facing parts of your external infrastructure. It acts like a search engine for internet-connected devices that gathers data from publicly available sources, such as service banners, ports, HTTP headers, DNS records, HTML content. The scanner helps to uncover various vulnerabilities, missing security patches, and out-of-date software across all your outer-facing assets, and goes further by actively testing your external assets. NordStellar executes an external scan from the perspective of an attacker who would try to find digital footprint flaws without having access to it.
External vulnerability scanners identify flaws in internet-facing parts of systems and networks. This allows companies to detect security risks early and patch vulnerabilities before cybercriminals can exploit them.
Vulnerability prioritization is the process of ranking vulnerabilities according to their severity, potential impact, and chances of exploitation. Prioritization helps companies address the most pressing vulnerabilities before it's too late.
The more frequent the vulnerability scans, the better. However, you should scan your external assets for security risks at least once a quarter. They help control your business's attack surface and stay proactive about your company's security.
With NordLayer Intelligence by NordStellar, you can schedule vulnerability scans to run automatically at regular intervals, such as weekly, or you can initiate scans manually on demand.
Once you've discovered the existing or new vulnerabilities, you should assign relevant security teams to remediate security risks by applying security patches, updates, or configurations. However, you may not be able to fix all faults in your system right away. In this case, you should implement adequate mitigation strategies to reduce vulnerability exposure and lower the chances of the attack.
An external vulnerability scan can help you comply with regulations and standards that require regular security checkups and prompt resolution of system shortcomings.
An external vulnerability scan can help support compliance with regulations and standards that require regular security checks and timely remediation of security weaknesses. It helps detect vulnerabilities that attackers typically target outside your network. Meanwhile, an internal vulnerability scan focuses on weaknesses within the company's internal network. It includes systems, devices, and applications that your employees can access.