EvidenceSheet
PCI DSS v4.0.1 · Req 11: Test Security Regularly

11.3.1.1 Lower-risk vulnerabilities handled per risk analysis

Applicable vulnerabilities that are not ranked high-risk or critical under the entity's Requirement 6.3.1 rankings must be addressed in line with the risk level established by a targeted risk analysis (conducted following all elements of Requirement 12.3.1), and rescans are run as needed. Applicability: the timeframe for fixing lower-risk vulnerabilities depends on that risk analysis, which must at minimum identify the assets being protected, the threats, and how likely a threat is and what its impact would be. Objective under the customized approach: vulnerabilities ranked below high-risk or critical are fixed at a frequency that matches the entity's risk. Future-dated: treated as a best practice up to 31 March 2025 and mandatory since then.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, 11.3.1.1. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open PCI DSS v4.0.1 in the compliance library.

Version 4.0.1 is the active version; 4.0 has been retired. Appendix A1 applies only to multi-tenant service providers, A2 only to card-present POS POI terminals that still use SSL or early TLS, and A3 only when a payment brand or acquirer requires it. Which requirements apply to you follows your validation type.

4
artefacts
1
held by a system
2
at each review
moderate
to go live
Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling
where the evidence lives
teal = a system already holds it · olive = produced at each review. To go live: easy when half or more of the artefacts are already held by a system, moderate from a quarter to a half, hard below a quarter.

These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.

system holds itEvidence a system already holds

  • Vulnerability tracking records showing age and closure dates of lower-ranked findings · Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

  • Rescan results confirming lower-risk fixes · Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling
  • Exception or acceptance records for findings left open · Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

  • Targeted risk analysis document defining remediation timeframes for medium and low findings · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Start with the 1 of 4 artefacts that already live in a system (Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling); keep the periodic reviews but log each one as a dated record with a named reviewer.

Common gaps auditors find

Do this for your whole sheet

Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.

Build my evidence sheet

11.3.1 Quarterly internal vulnerability scans · 11.3.1.2 Authenticated internal vulnerability scanning