Patch Management Policy

Document control

Field	Value
Document status	Active policy document
Owner	Security / Operations
Approver	Management
Review frequency	Annual or on material change
Classification	Customer-shareable

Purpose

Ensure security and stability patches are identified, prioritized, tested, deployed, and tracked.

Patch sources

Sources include operating system advisories, package/dependency alerts, framework advisories, vendor notices, cloud advisories, scan results, VAPT findings, and internal engineering review.

Prioritization

Patches are prioritized based on severity, exploitability, exposure, data sensitivity, affected users, availability of compensating controls, and operational risk.

Testing and deployment

Patches should be tested in an appropriate environment where feasible. Production/customer-impacting deployments must follow change-control and rollback procedures. Emergency patches may be expedited with post-change review.

Exceptions

If a patch cannot be applied, document reason, affected assets, compensating controls, owner, review date, and target remediation plan.

Evidence to maintain

Patch tracker, scan output, dependency update records, deployment logs, change approvals, rollback plan, and exception register.