Does your organization implement and adhere to defined timeframes for routine and emergency patching as specified in your vulnerability management plan?

This question assesses whether your organization has established clear timeframes for applying security patches and consistently follows these schedules based on patch criticality. Effective patch management requires differentiating between routine updates that can follow regular maintenance windows and emergency patches that address critical vulnerabilities requiring immediate attention. Evidence could include your vulnerability management plan with clearly defined patching timeframes, patch deployment reports showing adherence to these timeframes, change management records documenting patch implementations, and metrics showing the percentage of systems patched within target timeframes for both routine and emergency scenarios.