Imagine trying to discuss cybersecurity threats when everyone speaks a different language. One company calls a critical flaw "Buffer Overflow XYZ," while another calls the same vulnerability "Memory Corruption Issue 2025-01." Security teams would waste time trying to figure out if they're even talking about the same problem.
This chaos was exactly what cybersecurity professionals faced in the late 1990s. That's why the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system was born, to serve as a universal translator for cybersecurity professionals.
In 1999, MITRE Corporation launched the CVE project with a simple goal: to create a standardized way to identify and track security vulnerabilities. The creators recognized they needed something like a “digital Rosetta Stone” to avoid confusion.
Just like the ancient Rosetta Stone helped scholars decode Egyptian hieroglyphs by providing the same text in multiple languages, the CVE system helps cybersecurity professionals decode vulnerability information by giving every security flaw a unique, universal identifier, standard across languages and borders.
The system officially launched for the public in September 1999, starting with just 321 vulnerability records. Last year, there were more than 40,000 CVE records published and more are reported each year.
CVE stands for Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures. It's a catalog of known cybersecurity vulnerabilities, where one CVE ID is specific to one software flaw. Think of it as a massive database where every security vulnerability gets its own unique "license plate number."
A CVE identifier looks like this: CVE-2024-12345. The format is simple: "CVE" followed by the year it was assigned, then a unique number. This identifier stays with that vulnerability forever, no matter who discusses it or where it appears.
Each vulnerability is assigned a unique ID, making it easier for organizations to share information, prioritize fixes, and protect their systems.
CVE IDs are assigned by CNAs (CVE Numbering Authorities) and when a CNA isn’t available, MITRE, which operates the system, does the job. These authorities include major tech companies like Microsoft and Red Hat, as well as security researchers worldwide. Today, over 400 CVE Numbering Authorities from 40 countries produce CVE records.
When someone discovers a new security flaw, they report it to the appropriate authority, which then investigates and assigns a CVE number if the vulnerability meets specific criteria. To qualify as a CVE, security flaws must be fixable independently of other flaws.
CVEs aren't just identifiers. They may be accompanied by CVSS scores, typically provided by the National Vulnerability Database or vendors. The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) provides the foundation, with scores ranging from 0 to 10. Higher numbers indicate more critical vulnerabilities. A score of 9.0 or above means "drop everything and patch this immediately."
But CVSS only tells part of the story. It measures how bad a vulnerability could be, not how likely it is to actually be exploited. That's where the Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) comes in. EPSS uses machine learning to predict the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days.
Together, CVSS and EPSS give security teams a more complete picture to help them prioritize patching. A vulnerability might have a high CVSS score but a low EPSS score, meaning it's potentially dangerous but unlikely to be actively exploited. This nuanced approach helps organizations and security teams make smarter decisions about where to focus their limited time and resources.
The CVE system doesn’t solve every vulnerability management problem, but it has made issues more trackable, consistent and organized. In a world where new vulnerabilities emerge daily, having a common language for discussing security threats isn't just helpful, it's essential.
