How configuration is inherited between an asset and a Threat Emulation

Last updated: October 15, 2026

Some settings live in the Threat Emulation and others in the asset. This article explains what is configured in each place and what happens when you change something in one or the other.

What is configured in each place

Configured in the Threat Emulation	Configured in the asset
Testing type Depth Recurrence Human hacking Restrictions (excluded tests, schedule restrictions, and rate limit) VPN or jump host access Additional information: details about how the scope of the Threat Emulation works as a whole, for example critical flows or authentication requirements. Path limit for each asset	-General information: Target reference: the URL or reference of the asset. Description: the context of the asset, that is, what it is and how it works. Environment: the environment of the asset. Relevance: how critical the asset is. -Credentials -Technical documentation

Configured in the Threat Emulation

Configured in the asset

Testing type
Depth
Recurrence
Human hacking
Restrictions (excluded tests, schedule restrictions, and rate limit)
VPN or jump host access
Additional information: details about how the scope of the Threat Emulation works as a whole, for example critical flows or authentication requirements.
Path limit for each asset

-General information:

Target reference: the URL or reference of the asset.
Description: the context of the asset, that is, what it is and how it works.
Environment: the environment of the asset.
Relevance: how critical the asset is.

-Credentials

-Technical documentation

The asset's configuration is inherited by every Threat Emulation that includes it. The technical documentation you upload to the asset is also used in executions.

Description and Additional information complement each other: the first describes each asset and applies to all the Threat Emulations that include it; the second applies only to the Threat Emulation where you enter it. For ideas on what to include, see What to include in the context.

New assets

If you add a new asset from a Threat Emulation (by entering an entry point in the Scoping step), the configuration you enter there is saved as the default configuration of that asset.

Assets from your inventory

If you add an asset that already exists in your inventory (with Browse inventory), the Threat Emulation uses its current configuration. Within the Threat Emulation, that information is read-only. The only thing you can modify is the credentials.

If you modify the credentials from the Threat Emulation (you add, remove, or edit any), that change applies only to that Threat Emulation. The asset's configuration in your inventory does not change, and neither do the other Threat Emulations that use the asset.

Edit the asset from its detail view

If you edit the asset from its detail view in Assets, the change impacts:

The Threat Emulations that use the asset's default configuration.
The new Threat Emulations in which you include that asset.

It does not impact the Threat Emulations in which you modified the asset's credentials, because those have their own configuration.

Frequently asked questions

I changed an asset's credentials inside a Threat Emulation. Are they updated in the asset?

No. The change applies only to that Threat Emulation. If you want it to apply to all of them, edit the credentials from the asset's detail view.

I edited an asset from its detail view, but a Threat Emulation is still using the old credentials. Why?

Because the credentials were modified at some point in that Threat Emulation, so it has its own configuration. Review the asset's credentials inside that Threat Emulation.

Why can't I edit an asset's information inside the Threat Emulation?

Because the asset comes from your inventory. To change its information, edit it from its detail view in Assets.

Where do I add the context of an asset?

In the asset's Description field. If you want to add context that applies only to one Threat Emulation, use Additional information in its configuration.