Introducing the CTEM Maturity Model: A Blueprint for Exposure-Driven Risk Reduction

The security community has made considerable strides in prioritizing vulnerabilities, automating detection, and aligning remediation with business risk. But traditional efforts still fall short in today’s hybrid, high-speed, attacker-informed environment. What organizations need now isn’t just better vulnerability management—it’s Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM). 

Until now, there’s been no dedicated maturity model to guide CTEM. I have not found anything that clearly shows where your program currently stands and what actions are needed within the CTEM process. 

To help close that gap, I’m proud to release the CTEM Maturity Model (CTEMMM)—a structured, practical framework for organizations adopting or evolving CTEM programs. Inspired by the real-world challenges faced by defenders and keeping with the original SANS Vulnerability Management Maturity Model (VMMM) format, this new model reimagines maturity through the lens of continuous, validated, threat-informed exposure management. 

Why CTEM Deserves Its Own Maturity Model

CTEM isn’t just about scanning more often or shifting remediation left. It’s a lifecycle approach that includes: 

• Scoping what matters,  

• Discovering what’s exposed,  

• Prioritizing based on real-world threats,  

• Validating through testing and simulation, and  

• Mobilizing business-aligned responses. 

The CTEMMM was created because no existing maturity models (including the SANS VMMM one) adequately reflect the cross-functional, threat-informed CTEM processes. This process requires alignment with risk, integration across teams, and a continuous loop of improvement. It also deserves its own maturity model.  

What the CTEMMM Covers

The CTEM Maturity Model is organized around the full CTEM lifecycle, spanning the five CTEM phases: 

1. Scoping – Understand business context, threat landscape, and regulatory environment. 

2. Discovery – Identify internal and external assets, exposures, misconfigurations, and third-party risks. 

3. Prioritization – Map exposures to business impact, attack paths, threat actors, and exploitability. 

4. Validation – Test controls, validate remediation, simulate attacks, and inform detection. 

Each phase contains domains representing the capabilities needed for success. Domains are scored across five maturity levels, from ad hoc to optimized. these domains are further categorized as Foundational, Enhanced, or Strategic to help guide implementation efforts over time. 

How to Use the Model

The CTEMMM isn’t just for CISOs. It’s designed to bring together stakeholders from security operations, risk, IT, governance, and business units. Whether you’re launching a new CTEM effort, benchmarking current practices, or looking to prioritize improvements, the model helps you: 

• Assess where your CTEM capabilities stand today, in plain language 

• Align technical and non-technical teams with a shared vocabulary and roadmap 

• Plan realistic, phased improvements that build on each other 

• Communicate progress clearly to executives and regulators 

What Makes CTEMMM Different

Several features set the CTEMMM apart from traditional security maturity models: 

• Designed for the real-world CTEM lifecycle – Each capability reflects what’s needed across the complete CTEM process. 

• Threat-informed, not checkbox-driven – Models like attack path simulation and threat actor profiling are core to the prioritization logic, not add-ons. 

• Focused on validation and feedback loops – Exposure doesn’t end at discovery. The model emphasizes control testing, simulation, red/purple teaming, and integrating those results into detection and response. 

• Actionable examples and use cases – Companion documents provide clear examples for each domain at each maturity level, so teams can confidently self-assess and plan. 

Ready to Get Started?

The CTEM Maturity Model is now available, complete with two resources: 

• The Companion Guide – Explaining each domain in depth 

• The Use Case and Examples Document – Real-world scenarios to help contextualize your maturity assessments 

Download your copy of the CTEM Maturity Model + Companion Guide + Examples Document here. 

Whether you’re just starting to think about continuous exposure management or already running advanced threat-informed programs, the CTEMMM provides a shared structure to drive improvement and a common language to unify your teams. 

Why Now?

Attackers aren’t waiting for quarterly scan. Business infrastructure is evolving faster than our old models can keep up. The time for periodic, siloed, compliance-driven vulnerability programs is over.  

CTEM is the future—and it needs the proper scaffolding to succeed. That’s what the CTEM Maturity Model offers. 

We want to hear from you! Let us know how you’re using the model. Feedback, suggestions, and community collaboration are welcome. This living resource is meant to evolve alongside the threat landscape and the defenders shaping it.  

It’s built to help you understand where your CTEM program stands and where to go next.  

Check it out at http://www.ldr516.com/ctemmm. 

Want to Learn More?

If you’re interested in diving deeper into vulnerability and threat management, find me in the SANS LDR516 class.  Upcoming sessions: 

• September 22 – Network Security, Las Vegas 

• October 21 – Virtual (half-days for 3 weeks)  

• December 12 – SANS CDI, Washington, DC 

Register here.   CTEM and the CTEMMM are just two of the many items we unpack during the course.