How do low-probability tests work and how can I turn them off?

Low probability tests are a group of a few thousand tests that have a higher probability to generate false positives. These tests validate vulnerabilities against targets where the version identification has a higher chance of being misinterpreted. This can sometimes happen on patches that are backported to previous versions or where the version string of an application has been obfuscated or customized. Depending on the size of your IT environment, these tests might be causing issues and you might need to take action. Please read this information about these tests and possible actions.

Improvements

Holm Security’s Vulnerability Test Team is continuously working on improvements of these tests to decrease the risk of generating false positives. Until today hundreds of improvements have been made.

Report a vulnerability test

If you experience that a test is causing false positives, please report this to our Support Team.

What can I do if I experience problems?

If you experience problems, we recommend that you first consult our Support Team and they will consult you regarding the best actions to take.

One recommended solution can be turn of the low probability tests because this makes working with vulnerabilities more efficient. Looking from a pros and cons perspective, you might gain more from turning them off because it’s more efficient to work with vulnerabilities that have a lower risk of being a false positive. You might then in a second phase turn on the low probability tests, to find even more vulnerabilities. Not least customers with larger IT environments might benefit from this method.

Turn off low-probability tests

You can either turn off the low probability tests or create a new scan profile without these tests. Please follow the steps below to turn off the low probability tests.

1. log in to Security Center.
2. In the main menu click Scan network.
3. Click on the edit icon for the scan profile you wish to edit or click Create scan profile to add a new scan profile.
4. Click Scan settings and under Scan result interpretation uncheck Include low-probability vulnerabilities in scan result.
5. Click Save.
6. Done!