New Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) v4.0 Released – What’s New!

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) is vital for supplier-consumer interaction, offering a numerical score to assess security vulnerabilities’ technical severity that helps in guiding the following entities:-

• Businesses
• Service providers
• Public

CVSS scores interpret the following qualitative ratings for prioritizing vulnerability management and enhancing defense strategies against cyber threats, enabling real-time threat assessment for consumers’ protection:-

• Low
• Medium
• High
• Critical

At the 35th Annual FIRST Conference in June 2023, the CVSS version 4.0 was unveiled by FIRST. However, after two months of public input and refinement, CVSS version 4.0 was officially released by FIRST.

The CVSS Special Interest Group is proud to announce the official release of CVSS v4.0 – https://t.co/xxaoQ2iMjF. This latest version of CVSS seeks to provide all users with the highest fidelity vulnerability assessment.#FIRSTdotOrg #CVSS #BuildingTrust #PSIRT #CSIRT pic.twitter.com/uhyeqs8lSh

— FIRST.org (@FIRSTdotOrg) November 1, 2023

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CVSS 4.0 – What’s New?

This new version, CVSS 4.0, aims to offer the most precise vulnerability assessment, as it provides:-

• Finer detail
• Clarity
• Simplification in threat metrics

These are the key elements that make it more effective for assessing security needs and controls. CVSS 4.0 adds new metrics for assessing vulnerabilities, including:-

• Automatable
• Recovery
• Value Density
• Response Effort
• Urgency

Moreover, it’s also expanded for the OT/ICS/IoT, with Safety metrics included. CVSS 4.0 is a game-changer for global cybersecurity and incident response teams, offering a vital tool in the face of rising threats.

Diverse rating systems were used for severity before 2005 since, at that time, various non-standard severity systems existed. 

In February 2005, CVSS version 1 was initially introduced, driven by FIRST to standardize vulnerability measurement, which became an important industry tool.

CVSS evolved from version 1 in 2005 to version 3.1 in 2019. Version 4.0 is a notable advance, emphasizing threat intelligence and environmental metrics for more accurate scoring.

Here below, we have mentioned the new nomenclature that has been adopted in version 4.0:-

• CVSS-B: CVSS Base Score
• CVSS-BT: CVSS Base + Threat Score
• CVSS-BE: CVSS Base + Environmental Score
• CVSS-BTE: CVSS Base + Threat + Environmental Score

The rapid rise in cybersecurity challenges shows the importance of global coordination which is crucial. However, introducing standards like CVSS 4.0 plays a vital role in enhancing internet safety for all.

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