A vulnerability exploitable with network access means the vulnerable software is bound to the network stack and the attacker does not require local network access or local access. Such a vulnerability is often termed "remotely exploitable". An example of a network attack is an RPC buffer overflow.

The access conditions are somewhat specialized; the following are examples:

• The attacking party is limited to a group of systems or users at some level of authorization, possibly untrusted.
• Some information must be gathered before a successful attack can be launched.
• The affected configuration is non-default, and is not commonly configured (e.g., a vulnerability present when a server performs user account authentication via a specific scheme, but not present for another authentication scheme).
• The attack requires a small amount of social engineering that might occasionally fool cautious users (e.g., phishing attacks that modify a web browsers status bar to show a false link, having to be on someones buddy list before sending an IM exploit).

Authentication is not required to exploit the vulnerability.

There is considerable informational disclosure. Access to some system files is possible, but the attacker does not have control over what is obtained, or the scope of the loss is constrained. An example is a vulnerability that divulges only certain tables in a database.

Modification of some system files or information is possible, but the attacker does not have control over what can be modified, or the scope of what the attacker can affect is limited. For example, system or application files may be overwritten or modified, but either the attacker has no control over which files are affected or the attacker can modify files within only a limited context or scope.

There is reduced performance or interruptions in resource availability. An example is a network-based flood attack that permits a limited number of successful connections to an Internet service.