Top Threat Modeling Frameworks

by Dan.C

Threat Modeling Frameworks Explained: STRIDE, MITRE ATT&CK, PASTA, CVSS, TMaaC

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What is Threat Modeling?
• Frameworks Deep Dive
  • STRIDE
  • MITRE ATT&CK
  • PASTA (Process for Attack Simulation and Threat Analysis)
  • CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System)
  • TMaaC (Threat Modeling as Code)
• Comparison Table
• Bringing It All Together
• Conclusion
• Realted Posts

Introduction to Threat Modeling

Imagine you’re building a banking app. You’ve encrypted passwords, secured the database, and applied patches. But have you really thought like an attacker? What if someone tries to spoof a user, escalate privileges, or exploit an overlooked vulnerability?

That’s where threat modeling frameworks come in. They give security teams structured ways to anticipate, prioritize, and mitigate threats—long before attackers exploit them. In this guide, we’ll explore the most widely used frameworks: STRIDE, MITRE ATT&CK, PASTA, CVSS, and TMaaC.

What is Threat Modeling?

Threat modeling is a structured process for identifying what can go wrong in a system and how to defend against it.

Think of it like architecture: when designing a building, architects consider earthquakes, fire hazards, and break-ins. In cybersecurity, we consider spoofing, denial of service, and privilege escalation.

Different frameworks provide different perspectives: some focus on attacker behavior, some on risk scoring, and some on automation.

Threat Modeling Frameworks Deep Dive

STRIDE

• Purpose: Identify different categories of threats.
• How: Six categories: Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of service, Elevation of privilege.
• Best For: Developers designing new systems.
• Example: Protecting a login form from spoofing and privilege escalation.

MITRE ATT&CK

• Purpose: Map real-world attacker behaviors.
• How: Knowledge base of Tactics → Techniques → Procedures (TTPs).
• Best For: SOC teams, detection engineering, incident response.
• Example: Mapping a phishing campaign to Initial Access and Execution tactics in the MITRE matrix.

PASTA (Process for Attack Simulation and Threat Analysis)

• Purpose: A risk-centric, 7-step methodology for aligning business impact with technical risks.
• How: Simulates attacks, evaluates impact, and guides mitigation.
• Best For: Enterprises needing a business-aligned risk analysis.
• Example: An e-commerce site simulating SQL injection and measuring impact on revenue.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System)

• Purpose: Standardize vulnerability severity scoring.
• How: Scores vulnerabilities (0–10) based on exploitability, impact, and complexity.
• Best For: Vulnerability management, patch prioritization.
• Example: A CVSS 9.8 vulnerability → urgent patch; CVSS 3.1 → lower priority.

TMaaC (Threat Modeling as Code)

• Purpose: Integrate threat modeling into DevSecOps pipelines.
• How: Use code (YAML/DSL) to model threats, automate checks in CI/CD.
• Best For: Agile teams, cloud-native systems.
• Example: Automatically generating a threat model when deploying a new microservice.

Frameworks Comparison

Bringing All Together

No single framework solves everything. Instead, they complement each other:

• Use STRIDE during design.
• Use CVSS to prioritize vulnerabilities.
• Use MITRE ATT&CK to understand attacker behavior.
• Use PASTA for business-level risk assessment.
• Use TMaaC to bring it all into your DevOps pipelines.

Together, these frameworks form a toolbox for thinking like an attacker, defending like a pro, and scaling security across teams.

Conclusion

Back to our banking app—would you start with STRIDE to identify possible threats, or rely on MITRE ATT&CK to map out attacker behaviors?

The right answer depends on context. The important thing is knowing that frameworks exist to guide you through the complexity of cybersecurity.

If you’re new, start small with STRIDE or CVSS. As your security practice matures, explore MITRE ATT&CK, PASTA, and TMaaC.

Realted Posts

CI/CD Pipeline Hardening: Securing GitHub Actions & GitLab CI/CD

September 19, 2025

Comprehensive guide to building secure and hardened CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions and GitLab CI/CD for DevSecOps teams.

The earlier you model threats, the stronger your defenses will be. — Dan.C