What are the three steps performed by Vulnerability Scanners?

• A. Ping sweep; Port scanning; Exploit vulnerabilities
• B. Locate live hosts in the target network; Perform service and OS discovery; Test services and OS for known vulnerabilities
• C. Map network; Identify hosts; Patch machines
• D. Enumerate users; Crack passwords; Bypass authentication

Answer: (B)

Vulnerability scanning follows a three-step workflow: first, locate live hosts in the target network so you know what to assess; second, perform service and OS discovery to fingerprint what software and versions are running; third, test those services and OS against known vulnerabilities to identify weaknesses. This sequence is what vulnerability scanners are designed to do: map the devices and services exposed, then correlate them with a vulnerability database to pinpoint issues. The other options describe actions like attempting exploits, patching, or cracking passwords, which are outside the standard scanning phase and belong to exploitation or remediation tasks rather than vulnerability assessment.