Prioritizing CVEs: Not All Vulnerabilities Are Equal

Security teams are overwhelmed by CVEs. In 2024, over 30,000 new CVEs were published. Patching everything is impossible. The solution is risk-based prioritization.

The Exploitability Filter

A CVE with a CVSS score of 9.8 is meaningless if there is no public exploit and the service is not exposed to the internet. Conversely, a 7.5 CVE with a working Metasploit module and an open port is a real threat.

ShadowSurface Approach

• Map your live services first.
• Match CVEs only to exposed, running software.
• Factor in EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring) where available.
• Rank by business criticality of the affected asset.

Stop chasing scores. Start chasing actual risk.