Vulnerability Assessment with Hexnode UEM + XDR

In the legacy model of “Perimeter Security,” vulnerability assessment was passive and scheduled. You bought a network scanner, blasted packets at your subnets every Friday night, and emailed a PDF report to the IT Manager on Monday morning.

But in 2026, your fleet is distributed across home Wi-Fi and 5G networks. A traditional network scanner has no line-of-sight to these devices.

More critically, scanning is static. Knowing you have a vulnerability is useless if you don’t know that an attacker is actively exploiting it right now.

To secure a modern enterprise, you need real-time threat detection.

This guide explores the next evolution of Endpoint Security. We will move beyond siloed “Patch Management” to a unified architecture using Hexnode UEM and Hexnode XDR. This is how you hunt for risk in real-time across a distributed fleet.

The Strategic Shift

To secure a modern enterprise, you must answer two different questions simultaneously. Most organizations only answer the first, leaving them blind to active threats.

By layering Hexnode XDR (Extended Detection & Response) on top of Hexnode UEM, we create a closed-loop system that doesn’t just list problems but it neutralizes them.

Phase 1: The Static Hunt (Hexnode UEM)

The foundation of any hunt is knowing your terrain. Before you look for attackers, you must look for open doors.

The “Inside-Out” Assessment

Traditional scanners work “Outside-In” (pinging ports). Hexnode UEM works “Inside-Out” via the endpoint agent.

• No Blind Spots: The agent reports CVE status whether the device is behind the corporate firewall or on a public Wi-Fi.
• Zero Network Load: Instead of flooding the network with scan traffic, the agent checks the local OS kernel and application binaries, uploading only lightweight metadata.

This works perfectly for known patches. But for Zero-Day exploits or configuration errors (like an open port), UEM must hand the baton to XDR.

Phase 2: Real Time Threat Detection with Hexnode XDR

Patches take time. Even in a mature organization, testing and deployment windows can leave a 24-48 hour gap. Hexnode XDR is your sentry during that exposure window.

Behavioral Anomaly Detection

While UEM sees “Old Version,” XDR sees “Bad Behavior.” Even if you cannot patch a legacy server running a vulnerable version of Log4j, you can use XDR to watch it.

The Hunt Scenario:

• Detection: Hexnode XDR detects a process on “Server-04” attempting to execute a shell command via a web request.
• The Alert: XDR flags this not as a “Vulnerability” (potential risk) but as an “Incident” (active attack).
• The Context: The dashboard correlates this behavior with UEM data: “Device is non-compliant and missing Patch KB5044.”

This is Context-Aware Security. You aren’t just seeing a random alert; you are seeing the direct consequence of the unpatched vulnerability.

Phase 3: The Combined Response (The “Kill Chain”)

This is the category-defining capability of the Hunter’s Stack. In a siloed organization, the Security Team (XDR) detects the threat but must email the IT Team (UEM) to fix it. That email is the bottleneck where breaches happen.

In the Hexnode ecosystem, the response is automated.

Scenario: The “Virtual Patch” Workflow

A Critical CVE exists in Adobe Reader. No official patch is available from the vendor yet.

1. XDR Detection: XDR identifies Acrobat.exe attempting to spawn cmd.exe (a typical buffer overflow exploit).

2. Automated Response (Level 1): XDR immediately terminates the process to stop the immediate bleeding.

3. Orchestrated Response (Level 2): XDR signals UEM to move the device to a “Quarantine Group.”

4. UEM Enforcement:

• Network: The device is isolated (Firewall blocks all traffic except to the Hexnode Server).
• Policy: UEM runs a script to Uninstall Adobe Reader or change file permissions to prevent execution.

Result: The threat is neutralized behaviorally (XDR) and structurally (UEM) without human intervention.

Featured Resource

Hexnode UEM for Patch Management

See the technical specs on how Hexnode automates patch deployment for Windows and macOS to close the "Exposure Window" faster.

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Advanced Strategy: Hunting for “Shadow Configuration”

Not all vulnerabilities have CVE numbers. Some are self-inflicted wounds, such as a developer leaving RDP open to the internet.

The UEM + XDR Audit:

1. UEM Query: Use Hexnode Custom Scripts to audit the registry for RDP status.

Result: Finds 50 devices with RDP enabled.

2. XDR Pivot: Use Hexnode XDR to query login logs for those specific 50 devices.

Query: event_type=”login_failed” AND protocol=”RDP”

Result: Finds 2 devices with 500+ failed login attempts (Brute Force attack in progress).

3. Prioritization: You now know exactly which 2 devices to remediation first.

Reporting to the CISO: The Unified Risk Score

Your CISO doesn’t want two reports (one for patches, one for threats). They want a single view of Risk.

Building the “Fleet Health” Dashboard:

Widget 1: Vulnerability Exposure (UEM)

• Metric: % of Devices with Critical CVEs > 30 Days.

Widget 2: Real time Threat Detection Activity (XDR)

• Metric: High-Severity Incidents mapped to Unpatched Devices.

Widget 3: Mean Time to Remediate (MTTR)

• Metric: Time between “CVE Discovery” and “Patch Installation.”

Actionable Step: Use Hexnode’s API to pull data from both UEM and XDR into a single PowerBI or Tableau dashboard. This proves to the board that your security program is proactive, not reactive.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why do I need XDR for Vulnerability Assessment if I have UEM?

UEM provides Static Assessment (identifying missing patches). XDR provides Dynamic Assessment (identifying active exploitation). You need XDR to protect devices that cannot be patched immediately (Zero-Days or Legacy Apps) by monitoring for suspicious behaviors like process injection.

Can Hexnode XDR patch vulnerabilities?

Hexnode XDR detects the threat and then orchestrates Hexnode UEM to apply the patch. The two systems work in a loop: XDR identifies the risk, and triggers UEM to isolate the device, push the update, or uninstall the vulnerable application automatically.

How does this reduce risk?

It shrinks the Exposure Window. UEM minimizes the attack surface by patching known CVEs. XDR protects the remaining surface by detecting and blocking exploits on unpatched vulnerabilities (Virtual Patching), ensuring comprehensive coverage against both known and unknown threats.

Conclusion

The line between “IT Operations” and “Security Operations” has dissolved. If you are managing the OS, you are responsible for its security.

By combining Hexnode UEM (The Map) with Hexnode XDR (The Radar), you gain the ability to hunt for vulnerabilities in 3D. You don’t just see the missing patch; you see the attacker trying to exploit it.

Stop scanning for lists. Start your real-time threat detection today.