What is SCAP?

SCAP (Security Content Automation Protocol) is a standardized way to express and manipulate security data. It's used for automating vulnerability management, measurement, and policy compliance evaluation. SCAP consists of multiple open standards (such as XCCDF, OVAL, and CPE) that provide a framework for consistent and repeatable security assessments. Organizations use SCAP to ensure systems are configured securely, identify vulnerabilities, and comply with security policies. In essence, it's a toolset and language for talking about security in a machine-readable and automatable way.