Which type of vulnerability scan is performed with no credentials, often focusing on missing patches and misconfigurations?

Which type of vulnerability scan is performed with no credentials, often focusing on missing patches and misconfigurations?

• A. Non-credentialed scan
• B. Credentialed scan
• C. Automated audit
• D. Manual review

Answer: (A)

Unauthenticated vulnerability scans run without any credentials. Because they can’t log into the target, they rely on what is exposed externally—things like service banners, open ports, and visible configurations. This makes them well suited to uncover issues an outside attacker could exploit without credentials, such as missing patches and misconfigurations that are detectable from the network boundary. They don’t verify internal states, patch inventories, or configuration baselines that require access, which is why a deeper check requires credentials. A credentialed scan would log in to assess internal patch levels and configurations, a manual review is a human inspection rather than an automated scan, and an automated audit focuses on policy/compliance checks rather than scanning for vulnerabilities from an unauthenticated perspective.

Unauthenticated vulnerability scans run without any credentials. Because they can’t log into the target, they rely on what is exposed externally—things like service banners, open ports, and visible configurations. This makes them well suited to uncover issues an outside attacker could exploit without credentials, such as missing patches and misconfigurations that are detectable from the network boundary. They don’t verify internal states, patch inventories, or configuration baselines that require access, which is why a deeper check requires credentials. A credentialed scan would log in to assess internal patch levels and configurations, a manual review is a human inspection rather than an automated scan, and an automated audit focuses on policy/compliance checks rather than scanning for vulnerabilities from an unauthenticated perspective.