In my understanding, a cyber vulnerability is an opening in one’s security that presents an opportunity for malicious agents to perform a cyberattack. It presents a chance for attackers to act upon their threats once discovered. At the same time, a cyber threat is an already discovered opening in one’s security that allows free and unauthorized access to otherwise unavailable data. A hacker would attempt to find such a spot in one’s security to potentially compromise data integrity or utilize private information for their own benefit.
Neutralization of vulnerabilities prevents further threats stemming from their existence, while neutralization of threats may not reveal the source of their exploits. The lack of protection against threats is a vulnerability in itself. The source of weakness within a network may come from an inside, while a threat may be presented by inside, but most likely outside actors with malicious intents. Detecting an existing vulnerability does not imply that there is any damage that has been already done, while discovering an existing threat may imply that an attack has already led to a breach in data integrity and privacy.
Reference
Ciampa, M. D. (2021). CompTIA Security+ guide to network security fundamentals (5th ed.). Cengage Learning.