Introduction

Imagine you have a computer program, let's call it "SuperApp," that many people use for various tasks. One day, a security researcher discovers a flaw in SuperApp that could potentially allow malicious hackers to gain unauthorized access to users' data.

How can the researcher tag this issue such that other developers understand the exact nature of the vulnerability? The researcher needs a way to communicate and track this vulnerability in a standardized manner.

Problem at Hand

Before CVE, security flaws were often described using various names, making it confusing and difficult to track and address them effectively. Users would struggle because they couldn't easily identify and understand security vulnerabilities in software and hardware. This would lead to delays in applying patches and an increased risk of cyberattacks.

Why CVE Context Matters?

In cybersecurity, the risks of misidentifying a vulnerability can pose extreme consequences to an organization. There existed a need for a common language for discussing and sharing information about security issues.

That’s where CVE comes in handy.

At Akto, we use CVE tagging for every result as it provides a simple, unique identifier (CVE ID) for each vulnerability, making it easy to access and remediate issues as soon as possible.

What is CVE?

CVE stands for "Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures." It is a system used to uniquely identify and track known security vulnerabilities in software and hardware. Each identifier starts with ‘CVE’, followed by the year (4 digits) it was assigned, and finally a set of unique numbers. Eg. CVE-2023-12345.

This ID allows anyone interested to easily refer to and discuss this specific vulnerability, providing a uniform frame of reference. Here’s how it helps:

1. Information Sharing: Security professionals can share information about the CVE tagged vulnerability, making it easier for everyone to understand and address the issue.

2. Prioritization: Organizations can prioritize which vulnerabilities to address first based on their severity, potential impact, and relevance to their systems.

3. Patching and Updates: Software vendors can develop and release patches or updates to fix the vulnerability, and users can identify whether they need to apply these fixes based on the CVE ID.

4. Documentation: Security professionals can keep records of known vulnerabilities using CVE IDs, which aids in tracking the security history of software and hardware.