Vulnerability
Disclosure
Programs

VDP planning worksheet

Authority and scope

  • Who can approve the program and its commitments?
  • Which domains, applications, APIs, products, and versions are covered?
  • Which services are excluded, and why?
  • Which supplier permissions or contracts need review?
  • Who updates scope when services change?

Research conditions

  • Which methods and account types are permitted?
  • Which disruptive or sensitive activities are excluded?
  • What should a researcher do after unexpected access to sensitive information?
  • How can a researcher ask about an unclear boundary before testing?
  • Who reviews authorization and safe-harbor language?
  • Which commitments are outside the organization's authority?

Report intake

  • What is the actual reporting channel?
  • Who monitors it, including during absence?
  • How can sensitive evidence be transmitted?
  • Which minimum fields make a report investigable?
  • How are attachments isolated and reviewed?
  • Who can access reports, and how long are they retained?
  • When was the reporting route last tested end to end?

Triage and repair

  • Who acknowledges receipt?
  • Who verifies scope and reproduces behavior?
  • Who assigns the affected service owner?
  • Which conditions trigger incident response?
  • How are duplicates, rejected claims, and new evidence handled?
  • What proves the fix works?
  • Who can accept risk, with which review date?

Communication and disclosure

  • What acknowledgement and update commitments can staffing support?
  • Who communicates with the reporter?
  • How will delays and unresolved questions be explained?
  • Which suppliers, customers, or coordinators may need to participate?
  • Who decides on advisories, timing, and researcher credit?
  • How are decisions and earlier policy versions preserved?

Publication and maintenance

  • Where will the final approved policy be published?
  • Who maintains contact information and any security.txt expiry?
  • Which cases will be sampled to check closure quality?
  • Who owns the next program review, and when is it due?