Removing assignments from findings and remediation tasks

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Removing assignments from findings and remediation tasks

    ServiceNow Yokohama release enables remediation owners and vulnerability analysts to remove themselves or their groups from theAssigned toandAssignment groupfields on findings and remediation tasks. This unassignment capability helps ensure that records incorrectly assigned or outside a user’s scope are redirected appropriately.

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    Unassigning Findings and Remediation Tasks

    • Who can unassign: Remediation owners and vulnerability analysts.
    • When: Records can be unassigned in any state except Closed or Resolved.
    • How: Use the Unassign UI action available via a button or More options menu.
    • Effect on related records: Unassigning a remediation task also unassigns all associated findings sharing the same assignment group, but findings with different assignment groups remain unchanged.
    • Visibility: Unassigned records appear in the Unassigned module, helping users track and manage them.

    Approval Workflow and System Configuration

    • By default, unassigning a record triggers an approval process if the system property snvul.unassignvr.approvalrequired is true. The approval request shows up in My Approvals.
    • If approved:
      • The Assigned to and Assignment group fields are cleared.
      • Assignment type is set to Unassigned.
      • Optionally, the record can be reassigned to a default group defined by snvul.defaultassignmentgroup, which triggers notifications.
    • If rejected, the rejection reason is recorded in the Notes tab.
    • Vulnerability administrators can:
      • Disable approval by setting snvul.unassignvr.approvalrequired to false.
      • Redirect unassigned records to a specific group via snvul.defaultassignmentgroup.
      • Control notifications through the Unassign notification user group if no default group is specified.
    • The Assignment type field (values: Manual, Rule, Unassigned) helps track how the last assignment was made and is visible on records and list views.

    Monitoring Unassignments

    A daily scheduled job tracks unassigned records to evaluate the effectiveness of assignment rules by counting:

    • Findings reassigned to Unassigned
    • Manually unassigned records
    • System-unassigned records

    These counts appear in the Assignment Rules list under Manual items count and Unassigned items count columns, accessible from the Security Exposure Management Workspace. Each reassigned record maintains a reference to the original assignment rule, assisting administrators in identifying and adjusting rules as needed.

    You can remove yourself or your group from the Assigned to and Assignment group fields on findings and remediation tasks if you believe they were incorrectly assigned.

    Overview of the workflow

    Remediation owners and vulnerability analysts can unassign records using the Unassign UI action. This helps route records that are outside their scope to the appropriate owners.

    Use case

    Use the Unassign option when a finding or remediation task is not relevant to your scope or was mistakenly assigned to you or your group.

    Unassigning from findings and remediation tasks

    You can unassign records in any state except Closed or Resolved, using the Unassign button or the More options menu.

    Supported Records:
    • Remediation tasks: When a remediation task is unassigned, all associated findings with the same assignment group are also unassigned.
      Note:
      Items with a different assignment group than their remediation task aren't unassigned, as they are likely manually assigned.
    • Findings: Records unassigned manually or via UI appear under the Unassigned module.

    Any records that you update assignments for with the UI action or manually are displayed on the Unassigned module.

    Approval workflow and system properties

    By default, unassigning a record triggers an approval workflow if the system property sn_vul.unassign_vr.approval_required is set to true. This generates an approval request that appears under My Approvals. If approved:

    • The Assigned to and Assignment group fields are cleared.
    • The Assignment type is set to Unassigned.
    • The record can be optionally reassigned to a group defined in sn_vul.default_assignment_group.
    • Notifications are sent to the new group.

    • If rejected, the reason appears in the Notes tab.

    As a vulnerability administrator, you can:

    • Disable approvals by setting sn_vul.unassign_vr.approval_required to false.
    • Redirect unassigned records to a specific group by setting its sys_id in sn_vul.default_assignment_group.
    • Manage notifications using the Unassign notification user group if no default group is set.

    The Assignment type (Manual, Rule, or Unassigned) helps identify how a record was last assigned. When unassigned, this field is set to Unassigned and is visible on both the record and list views.

    Monitoring unassignments with scheduled jobs

    A daily Reassignment count for assignment rules scheduled job tracks unassigned records to assess assignment rule effectiveness. This job counts:

    • Findings reassigned to Unassigned.
    • Manually unassigned records.
    • System-unassigned records

    These counts appear in the Assignment Rules list under the following columns:

    • Manual items count
    • Unassigned items count
    To view reassignment counts:
    1. Navigate to Workspaces > Security Exposure Management Workspace.
    2. Select Administration in the navigation pane.
    3. Select Review on the Assignment rules tile.
    4. On the Rules page, select Assignment in the navigation pane.
    5. Use the gear icon to add both reassignment columns to the list view.

    Each reassigned record retains a reference to its original assignment rule. The list view displays reassignment counts for each assignment rule, helping you identify rules that may need adjustment.