Understanding vulnerability prioritization

This document covers:

Where to find priority ranks in Vulnerability Management
What data factors into the priority ranks of vulnerabilities

Viewing priority rank in Vulnerability Management

An image showing the vulnerabilities prioritization on the Vulnerability Management vulnerability list page.

one.newrelic.com > All capabilities > Vulnerability Management > (select vulnerabilities tab)

The priority ranking is based on all known data about a vulnerability. The Reason to prioritize column is a summary and weighting of key CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System), EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) and known active ransomware data.

Data influencing priority rank

Severity is based on the vulnerability's CVSS score. An open industry standard, CVSS uses a formula of several access and impact metrics to calculate the severity of the vulnerability.

This table shows the tags we've assigned corresponding to CVSS scores.

Severity	CVSS range
Critical	9.0 - 10.0
High	7.0 - 8.9
Medium	4.0 - 6.9
Low	0.1 - 3.9
Info / None	0.0

Active ransomware are vulnerabilities that have been used in known ransomware campaigns. The severe impacts of ransomware incidents make these vulnerabilities a high priority.

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) defines ransomware as "an ever-evolving form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable. Malicious actors then demand ransom in exchange for decryption. Ransomware actors often target and threaten to sell or leak exfiltrated data or authentication information if the ransom is not paid."

Explore CISA's page for Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog to learn more.

Exploit probability scores are based on EPSS, which rates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild. In these cases, there are known instances of threat actors taking advantage of the vulnerability. EPSS scores can look low out of context, but security experts recommend giving higher priority to all vulnerabilities with an exploit probability above the 85th percentile. This indicates a significant risk that that vulnerability will be exploited.

Explore FIRST's page for The EPSS Model to learn more.

This table shows the tags we've assigned to each level of exploit probability.

Exploit probability	EPSS percentile
Exploit extremely probable	95%
Exploit very probable	90%
Exploit probable	85%

Example of ranking logic

A vulnerability that's "high" severity with an EPSS of "exploit probable" might rank higher than a vulnerability with a "critical" severity with an EPSS level that's lower than an 85th percentile probability of exploitation.

Understanding vulnerability prioritization

Viewing priority rank in Vulnerability Management

Data influencing priority rank

Severity data

Active ransomware data

Exploit probability (EPSS) data

Example of ranking logic

Understanding vulnerability prioritization

Viewing priority rank in Vulnerability Management.css-21sua1{background:none;border:none;width:0;padding:0;}

Data influencing priority rank

Active ransomware data

Exploit probability (EPSS) data

Example of ranking logic

Viewing priority rank in Vulnerability Management