“Virtual patches require accurate detection signatures, they don’t remediate the underlying vulnerability, and they can create a false sense of closure that delays proper patching indefinitely,” Ferguson argues. “The risk is that temporary becomes permanent. The underlying vulnerability stays open, and the virtual patch becomes the reason nobody revisits it.”
Just-in-time risk reduction
Douglas McKee, director of vulnerability intelligence at Rapid7, advocates what he describes as just-in-time risk reduction rather than just-in-time patching because of the practical difficulties with the latter.
“In the real world, especially in OT, medical devices, and business-critical systems, you can’t always patch the second a CVE drops,” McKee argues. “You still need testing, maintenance windows, rollback plans, and someone who actually owns the asset. However, the old monthly scan, report, and remediation cycle will not survive this pace.”
