What are Vulnerability Scoring Systems and Databases?

Have you ever considered how IT professionals uncover vulnerabilities and assess their severity within networks or software systems? Imagine your home security system. You’d want to know if there’s a window that won’t lock properly or a door that’s easy to break into. Vulnerability scoring systems and databases are like home inspectors in the digital world. They check for digital “unlocked windows” in software and then rank them on how easy it would be for a cyber attacker to get in. This helps computer professionals fix these vulnerabilities before any digital attacker exploits the system. Following are some of the vulnerability scoring systems and databases:

• Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE): It’s like a bulletin board in the community center listing all the known local issues. CVE lists all the known security problems in software that everyone should know.
• National Vulnerability Database (NVD): This is like a detailed town hall file with records of all the issues listed on the community bulletin board, their severity, and what can be done about them.
• Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE): Imagine a library archive that records all the common problems that buildings might have, like weak locks or shoddy windows, so that they can be fixed or avoided in the future.

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS)

Think of CVSS as a health rating for a restaurant. Just as the health score tells you about the cleanliness and safety of a restaurant, the CVSS gives a score to software vulnerabilities to show how serious they are. It uses three ways to measure this:

• Base Metric: This is like checking the basic ingredients in a kitchen to see if they’re fresh and of good quality. It looks at the core issues of the software.
• Temporal Metric: This is like looking at how the restaurant’s cleanliness score might change if they leave food out overnight. It assesses how a software problem may get better or worse over time.
• Environmental Metric: This is similar to considering the neighborhood of the restaurant. If it’s in a place with lots of pests, the cleanliness score might be different than if it’s in a super clean area. For software, this means looking at the specific setup where the software is used and how that affects the security risk.

The scoring system for security vulnerabilities ranges from a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 having the highest severity level. The score is determined by a special formula that results in a number representing the seriousness of each identified issue. The CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) calculator then assigns a rank to these security weaknesses and gives users an overview of the severity and associated risks. Here’s how the scores break down:

• None: Score of 0.0; it’s like having no security issue at all.
• Low: Scores between 0.1 and 3.9; consider it a minor problem, like a squeaky door that needs oiling.
• Medium: Scores from 4.0 to 6.9; this could be like finding out your door lock is a bit easy to pick.
• High: With scores from 7.0 to 8.9, the issues are more serious; imagine discovering a window that doesn’t close properly in a storm.
• Critical: The top bracket, 9.0 to 10.0, is for the most serious problems; it’s as if you found your front door wide open with a “Welcome” sign for attackers.

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) System

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system is like a big, open book that lists all the known vulnerabilities in software, kind of like a catalog of all the ways software can be compromised. It’s freely available for everyone to use. This list gives each vulnerability a unique name or CVE ID so that everyone can discuss the same vulnerability without confusion. It’s not just a list but a way for various security tools and services to understand each other and work together better. When new vulnerabilities are found, they get added to this list so that everyone, including professionals and the public, can stay informed about what needs to be fixed or watched out for in their software. This list:

• Provides one specific name for each vulnerability or security gap.
• Offers a uniform description for every listed security issue, making it easier for everyone to understand and refer to a specific problem.
• Works more like a reference guide than a storage database, detailing vulnerabilities rather than just storing them.
• Helps various security systems and databases communicate effectively by using a common language.
• Aids in comparing and assessing the effectiveness and compatibility of different cybersecurity tools and services.
• Open for anyone to access and use, promoting widespread awareness and proactive management of software vulnerabilities.
• Supported by the cybersecurity industry, including the organizations responsible for assigning these identifiers, ensuring that the CVE list is trusted and used widely.

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)

The Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) system categorizes different types of software vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Backed by the National Cybersecurity FFRDC under MITRE Corporation and supported by US-CERT and the National Cyber Security Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, CWE provides a comprehensive list of software issues. This resource is a foundational tool for identifying, mitigating, and preventing security weaknesses. Additionally, it offers a sophisticated search feature that allows users to look up potential weaknesses based on well-researched concepts, development practices, and underlying structures of software and systems.

Safeguarding against vulnerabilities is similar to fortifying a home against intruders. Through the use of detailed vulnerability scoring systems and databases like CVE, NVD, CWE, and CVSS, IT professionals are equipped with the tools necessary to detect, assess, and prioritize the remediation of software vulnerabilities. These systems provide a framework for understanding the severity of potential security risks and facilitate a common language for the cybersecurity community. By leveraging these resources, organizations can significantly enhance their security posture, ensuring that their digital “homes” are well-protected against the evolving landscape of cyber threats.

To be continued…

Vulnerability management life cycle

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AUTHOR
Pooja Rawat ( )

“ My name is Pooja Rawat. I have done my B.tech in Instrumentation engineering. My hobbies are reading novels and gardening. I like to learn new things and challenges. Currently I am working as a Cyber security Research analyst in Infosectrain. “