vulnerability

A characteristic or specific weakness that renders an organization or asset (such as information or an information system) open to exploitation by a given threat or susceptible to a given hazard.

Characteristic of location or security posture or of design, security procedures, internal controls, or the implementation of any of these that permit a threat or hazard to occur. Vulnerability (expressing degree of vulnerability): qualitative or quantitative expression of the level of susceptibility to harm when a threat or hazard is realized.