Why CVSS Alone Doesn't Tell You What to Patch First

Short summary

CVSS scores measure theoretical vulnerability severity but don't indicate whether attackers are actively exploiting a flaw. CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and FIRST's Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) provide real-world exploitation data. Apply composite scoring (KEV 40%, EPSS 35%, CVSS 15%, scanner context 10%) to automatically prioritize critical patches instead of manually sorting by CVSS alone.

• •CVSS doesn't indicate real-world exploitation—only theoretical worst-case severity
• •KEV and EPSS provide actionable signals; less than 0.5% of CVEs are actively exploited
• •Composite scoring methodology replaces manual spreadsheet-based patch prioritization

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