A finding stops affecting your score in one of two ways: you resolve it yourself through the remediation process, or it decays on its own. This article covers every reason a finding can decay without you having to submit anything.
Why findings decay
It's no longer detected
Every finding is tied to a detection window. If our scans stop observing the underlying condition for the full length of that window, the finding decays. This is the most common reason findings disappear. In most cases, it means the issue was quietly fixed (a patch was applied, a certificate was renewed, a service was taken offline). It can also mean the condition is still present, but our scanners lost visibility into it during that window.
A rescan confirmed it's fixed
When you mark an issue as fixed, it triggers an immediate, targeted rescan instead of waiting for the next regularly scheduled scan. This rescan uses the same detection logic as any other scan; there's nothing different about how it evaluates the condition. If the rescan doesn't find the issue, the finding decays right away instead of waiting out the rest of the detection window.
The asset is no longer part of your digital footprint
Findings are tied to specific IPs or domains associated with your organization. If our attribution data changes, the finding decays because the asset is no longer considered part of your footprint. This can happen when an IP is reassigned or when a domain's ownership currently linked to a parent or subsidiary company changes. This doesn't necessarily mean anything was fixed; it means the asset is no longer counted as yours.
The asset was reclassified
Some IPs and domains get reclassified after further analysis, for example, as a shared hosting IP, a CDN, a parked domain, or a VPN endpoint. Once an asset is reclassified this way, certain findings tied to it are no longer counted against your score, and any existing findings for that asset decay.
Breach-specific decay
Breaches decay differently from other findings. Rather than disappearing, a breach's score impact gradually shrinks over time and reaches zero within about a month of its last confirmed appearance. Once the score impact reaches zero, the breach no longer affects your score, but it remains visible on your scorecard indefinitely; unlike other findings, a breach doesn't age out of existence. The only exception is if you dispute a breach and we confirm it was reported in error, in which case it's removed.
Accuracy improvement
Sometimes a finding decays because we've improved our detection logic in a way that reduces false positives. The underlying condition on your asset may not have changed at all; the finding decays because, under the more accurate logic, it should not have been flagged in the first place.
Does a decayed finding affect my score?
No. Once a finding decays, it no longer counts against your score. The one exception is a breach in the process of decaying: its score impact shrinks toward zero on a schedule, so a breach may still show a (shrinking) impact for a period of time before it reaches zero.
Where to see decayed findings
Decayed findings appear under the Decayed tab in your Scorecard's Issues page and in the Other/Platform events column on the History page. Both show the finding's history even though it no longer affects your score.