Artifact GuideUKVulnerability Disclosure Policy

UK PSTI Product Security Vulnerability Disclosure Policy

Vulnerability Disclosure Policy decisions under UK PSTI Product Security should be written in operational language: who is in scope, what must happen, what evidence proves it, and when escalation is needed.

Use this guide to turn official requirements into scope, evidence, owner, and review decisions. This guidance is practical, source-linked, and should be validated against current legal and policy requirements before implementation.

Author
Sorena AI
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
May 9, 2026
Sections
4

Structured answer sets in this page tree.

Primary sources
5

Cited legal and guidance references.

Publication metadata
Sorena AI
Published May 9, 2026
Updated May 9, 2026
Overview

This page helps you determine which UK PSTI Product Security duties apply, who owns each action, required evidence, and the review path for escalation decisions.

Section 1

What should teams decide about Vulnerability Disclosure Policy under UK PSTI Product Security?

A vulnerability disclosure policy is the public process for receiving and handling reports about security issues in a product. Under the PSTI regime, manufacturers must provide information on how to report security issues, including the timescales for acknowledging reports and giving status updates until the issue is resolved.

For compliance, visitors should confirm whether they are a manufacturer in scope, publish the reporting route in a clear and accessible way, state the expected response times, and keep evidence that the policy was made available in English and free of charge.

  • Define the exact Vulnerability Disclosure Policy trigger and the business process it affects.
  • Record which role, product, system, customer group, or data flow is in scope.
  • Attach the source-linked rule, the owner, and the evidence field before approving the control.
  • Escalate uncertainty when the facts depend on thresholds, exemptions, cross-border activity, vulnerable users, or enforcement-sensitive wording.
Section 2

Who should own Vulnerability Disclosure Policy, and what evidence should prove the decision?

Ownership should sit with the team that controls product design, supply-chain placement, importer/distributor checks, or customer security information, with legal and product-security review.

Evidence should show relevant-connectable-product scope, default-password controls, vulnerability disclosure channel, minimum support period, statement of compliance, supply-chain role checks, and OPSS notice response readiness.

  • Name one accountable owner and one reviewer for the Vulnerability Disclosure Policy workflow.
  • Keep source screenshots or source links, decision notes, implementation tickets, and approval records together.
  • Use dated evidence for deadlines, notices, risk assessments, contracts, user journeys, and regulator-facing records.
  • Review the evidence after product changes, new markets, new vendors, enforcement updates, or material changes in the source text.
Section 3

Which edge cases should teams check before relying on a Vulnerability Disclosure Policy decision?

Most PSTI mistakes happen at the boundary between manufacturer, importer and distributor duties, excepted products, bundled products, support-period statements, and evidence that does not match the shipped product.

Use this section before UK market placement, importer onboarding, distributor acceptance, or support-period publication so the evidence matches the actual product and supply-chain role.

  • Check whether the rule changes for minors, consumers, business users, public-sector bodies, regulated sectors, high-risk services, or cross-border transfers.
  • Separate binding law, regulator guidance, consultation material, standards, and enforcement commentary in the evidence record.
  • Do not rely on a previous answer if the data categories, user interface, vendor role, or contractual flow changed.
  • Track unresolved assumptions in an open-questions section and route legal interpretation points for review.
Section 4

How should teams operationalize Vulnerability Disclosure Policy with proportionate controls?

Use a compact PSTI workflow that captures product scope, role, password control, vulnerability disclosure route, support-period information, statement-of-compliance approval, and OPSS escalation path.

The output should be a product-scope note, statement-of-compliance pack, supplier attestation, customer-facing support-period notice, or OPSS response record.

  • Create a short intake question that identifies the Vulnerability Disclosure Policy scenario.
  • Map the answer to a required action, evidence field, owner, reviewer, and review date.
  • Link related artifact pages with descriptive anchors so users can move from scope to deadlines, controls, penalties, and templates.
  • Update the workflow when official source material changes or when internal evidence shows recurring exceptions.
Primary sources

References and citations

gov.uk
Referenced sections
  • Supports the PSTI vulnerability-disclosure-policy claim that manufacturers must publish information on how security issues can be reported.
"publishing information on how to report security issues"
gov.uk
Referenced sections
  • GOV.UK guidance identifying the PSTI Act 2022 and 2023 Regulations, covered products, roles, and security requirements.
"publishing information on how to report security issues"
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