11.4.4 Correct exploitable findings from penetration tests

Exploitable vulnerabilities and security weaknesses discovered during penetration testing must be corrected: in line with how the entity rates the risk each issue poses, using the Requirement 6.3.1 risk ranking; and with penetration testing repeated to verify that the corrections work. Guidance (good practice): when assessing risk, entities should consider how likely exploitation is and whether other controls reduce the risk, and any weakness showing a PCI DSS requirement is not met should be addressed. Objective under the customized approach: weaknesses and vulnerabilities uncovered when system defenses are tested get mitigated.

Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, 11.4.4. 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.