Which of the following is NOT a part of a vulnerability assessment?

The process of vulnerability assessment involves several key stages aimed at identifying and managing potential security weaknesses in a system. The identification of vulnerabilities is the first step, where potential security issues are discovered and documented. Following that, prioritizing these vulnerabilities enables organizations to focus their remediation efforts on the most critical issues first. Quantifying vulnerabilities helps in understanding the potential impact and risks associated with each vulnerability, facilitating informed decision-making.

Developing software patches, however, is not part of the vulnerability assessment process itself. While it may be a subsequent action taken to remediate identified vulnerabilities, creating patches involves software development and coding efforts, which fall under remediation or mitigation strategies rather than the assessment phase. Thus, this option stands apart from the core activities involved in conducting a vulnerability assessment.