Deferring findings automatically without manual intervention using exception rules

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Deferring Findings Automatically Without Manual Intervention Using Exception Rules

    The exception rules in the Security Exposure Management Workspace enable ServiceNow customers to automate the deferral process for findings. This functionality allows organizations to request exceptions for findings that cannot be immediately remediated or deferred, streamlining vulnerability management.

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    Key Features

    • Automated Deferral: Automatically defer new and existing findings for a set period based on predefined rule conditions, reducing manual effort.
    • Priority Ordering: Rules are applied based on priority; higher priority rules are executed first, preventing subsequent rules from being applied to the same finding.
    • Lifecycle Management: Exception rules include creation, approval, activation, deferral, and expiry stages, ensuring comprehensive management of the deferral process.
    • Approval Process: Exception rule requests undergo a two-level approval process, enhancing traceability and consistency across workflows.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing exception rules, ServiceNow customers can expect to:

    • Minimize the risk of missing service level agreements through automation.
    • Efficiently manage multiple findings without the need for manual intervention.
    • Ensure that findings revert to an open state after the defined deferral period expires.

    Exception rules for Security Exposure Management Workspace enable you to automate the deferral process for findings. Request an exception for the findings that can't be remediated or deferred immediately, by identifying the impacted vulnerabilities, configuration items (CIs), or VIs. Defer the matching findings based on the rule when the system identifies them by automating the finding deferral process.

    Using exception rules in your organization

    Use exception rules to automatically defer new and existing findings for a specific period if they match the approved rule condition. Automation minimizes the risk of missing service level agreements and makes it easier to manage multiple items, because you’re eliminating manual intervention.

    Deferral rules support ordering, that is, the rule with the highest priority is run first. When a high-priority rule is applied on a finding, no subsequent rules are applied on it again even if the condition matches the Finding.

    The life cycle of an exception rule is as follows:
    • Creating an exception rule
    • Approving an exception rule request
    • Activating an exception rule
    • Deferring an exception rule
    • Expiry of an exception rule
    Creating an exception rule

    You can create an exception rule to automatically defer the findings that match the defined conditions for the specified period. After you create an exception rule, submit it for approval.

    Approving an exception rule request
    Approving an exception rule request is a two-level process. If only the first-level approver is present, the exception rule can be assessed and approved by a single approval. However, if there's no first-level approver, an exception rule approval can't be approved. See Approve an exception rule request for more information.
    Note:
    The Change Approval (CA) is now also created during exception rule submission. This enhancement ensures consistency across exception workflows and improves traceability.
    After an exception rule request is approved, you can perform the following actions:
    • Cancel
    • Delete
    Activating an exception rule
    Starting from the "Valid from" date, the exception rule runs on all the findings that are created and also on the ones that are moved from the Closed to the Open state.
    Note:
    If you enable the Execute on existing data option, a scheduled job runs once on the existing data on the "Valid from" date.
    Deferring an exception rule

    You can defer findings that match the conditions defined in this exception rule, up to the "Deferred until" date that is defined for the rule. On this date, the remediation task that you created for the exception rule is closed and all the findings in this group move back to the Open state.

    Expiry of an exception rule

    After the exception rule expires, it no longer runs on new or reopened findings.