A Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP), sometimes called a Responsible Disclosure Policy, is one of the most important public-facing security documents a modern organization can publish. In an era where security researchers, ethical hackers, and even occasional finders regularly discover issues in websites, APIs, mobile apps, cloud infrastructure, and IoT devices, having a clear VDP signals maturity, invites collaboration, and — most importantly — reduces legal and operational risk on both sides.

Why Every Organization Should Have (and Publicize) a VDP

Many companies still react to vulnerability reports with cease-and-desist letters or legal threats — an approach that almost always backfires. Researchers go public quickly (full disclosure), the vulnerability gets exploited in the wild, and the organization ends up in the news for the wrong reasons.

A well-written VDP flips this dynamic:

• It gives explicit permission for good-faith security research (safe harbor).
• It channels reports to the right team instead of Twitter or dark-web forums.
• It builds trust with the security community.
• Many regulators, standards (ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS), and government directives now expect or require one (e.g., CISA BOD 20-01 for US federal agencies).

Importantly: a VDP is not the same thing as a bug bounty program. A VDP focuses on safe, coordinated reporting — usually without financial rewards. A bug bounty program is a VDP + monetary incentives + often tighter scoping and a platform (HackerOne, Bugcrowd, etc.).

Core Components of a Strong Vulnerability Disclosure Policy

Based on widely adopted templates (CISA, NCSC, DOJ framework, and real-world examples from 2024–2025), a good VDP usually includes these sections:

1. Introduction / Commitment A short statement showing you value security researchers and appreciate responsible reporting.
2. Scope What is explicitly in and out of scope.
   • In-scope: *.example.com, api.example.com, mobile apps
   • Out-of-scope: third-party services, DoS/distributed testing, social engineering, physical access, etc.
3. Safe Harbor / Authorization The most critical part. You promise not to pursue legal action against good-faith reporters who follow the policy.
4. Research Guidelines / Rules of Engagement What researchers should and should not do:
   • Stop as soon as a vulnerability is confirmed.
   • Do not access, modify, or delete data.
   • Do not pivot to other systems.
   • Avoid actions that harm availability (no DoS).
   • Respect privacy — do not exfiltrate PII.
5. How to Report
   • Preferred channel: security@example.com, PGP key, secure web form, or platform.
   • What to include: clear description, steps to reproduce, screenshots/PoC (no full exploit chain initially), impact assessment.
   • Anonymous reports allowed?
6. Expected Timelines & Communication
   • Acknowledgment: within X business days (commonly 3–7).
   • Triage / initial assessment: within Y days.
   • Fix timeline: best-effort, severity-based (critical → days/weeks, low → months).
   • Updates during remediation.
7. Public Disclosure Timeline How long researchers should wait before going public (coordinated disclosure). Common windows: 90 days standard, shorter for critical issues, longer if complex supply-chain fixes needed.
8. Recognition / Rewards (optional) Hall of Fame, swag, or note that this is not a paid bounty program.
9. Contact & Versioning Publication date, last updated date.

Example Vulnerability Disclosure Policy Outline (2026-friendly)

ExampleCo Vulnerability Disclosure Policy

Last updated: February 2026

ExampleCo thanks the security community for helping keep our users safe. We encourage responsible disclosure of security vulnerabilities.

Scope

In scope:

• All domains ending in *.exampleco.com and *.exampleco.app
• Our public APIs (api.exampleco.com)
• Mobile applications (iOS & Android)

Out of scope:

• Third-party dependencies
• Denial of service or brute-force attempts
• Physical or social attacks
• Issues requiring outdated browsers or jailbroken devices

Guidelines

When investigating, please:

• Immediately stop if you access non-public user data.
• Only use the minimum proof necessary (no data exfiltration, no persistence).
• Avoid degrading service for other users.

Reporting

Please send reports to: security@exampleco.com (PGP: [fingerprint])

or via our secure form: https://exampleco.com/security-report

Include: CVE (if applicable), steps to reproduce, impact, suggested fix.

We accept anonymous reports.

Our Promise (Safe Harbor)

Good-faith vulnerability research conducted in compliance with this policy is authorized. We will not initiate or support legal action against you for such activities.

Timelines

• Acknowledgment: within 5 business days
• Triage & severity: within 10 business days
• We aim for remediation within: • Critical: 30 days • High: 60 days • Medium/Low: 120 days

We will keep you informed.

Disclosure

We prefer coordinated disclosure. Please give us at least 90 days from report validation before public disclosure. We may request extensions for critical infrastructure issues.

Questions?

Contact security@exampleco.com.

Final Thoughts

Publishing a VDP is low-cost, high-impact security hygiene. Start simple — even a one-page policy is better than none. Use public templates from CISA, NCSC, or CERT/CC as your base, customize scope and contacts, get legal review, then put it at /vulnerability-disclosure-policy (or /security.txt).

The security community notices which companies respect researchers. A good VDP doesn't just reduce risk — it turns potential adversaries into valuable allies.

Have you published a VDP yet? If you're building one, feel free to share your draft (anonymized) — the community can help refine it. Stay safe out there.