CS0-003 Vulnerability Management Practice Question
A security analyst is prioritizing vulnerabilities for remediation. One vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5, an EPSS score of 0.02, and is not in the CISA KEV catalog. Another vulnerability has a CVSS score of 5.0, an EPSS score of 0.85, and is listed in the KEV catalog. Which vulnerability should be prioritized FIRST?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The vulnerability with CVSS 5.0
EPSS and KEV catalog provide real-world exploit intelligence. The vulnerability with high EPSS and KEV is more likely to be exploited, so it should be prioritized despite lower CVSS.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The vulnerability with CVSS 7.5
Why it's wrong here
While a CVSS score of 7.5 indicates a high theoretical severity, prioritizing it solely based on this metric ignores real-world threat intelligence. Without active exploits or known threat actor activity, a higher CVSS vulnerability poses less immediate risk than a lower-severity vulnerability that is currently being actively exploited in the wild.
- ✗
Both should be prioritized equally
Why it's wrong here
Treating both vulnerabilities with equal urgency is an inefficient use of limited remediation resources. The vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.0 has a significantly higher probability of exploitation due to its presence in the KEV catalog and its high EPSS score. Consequently, it must be addressed first to mitigate immediate, active threats to the organization.
- ✗
Neither should be prioritized until a full risk assessment is done
Why it's wrong here
Delaying remediation to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment introduces an unnecessary window of exposure and increases organizational risk. Threat intelligence feeds like CISA's KEV and EPSS provide immediate, actionable data that allows analysts to bypass lengthy assessments and rapidly mitigate active, high-probability threats.
- ✓
The vulnerability with CVSS 5.0
Why this is correct
The vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.0 should be prioritized because its high EPSS score and inclusion in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog indicate active, real-world exploitation. Remediation efforts must focus on vulnerabilities with proven threat actor activity, as they represent an immediate entry point, regardless of a moderate base severity score.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
OSINT Sources for Threat Intelligence
Key term
Vulnerability
A vulnerability is a weakness in a system, network, or software that could be exploited by a threat to cause harm or unauthorized access.
Key term
Remediation
Remediation is the process of fixing or eliminating vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, or security weaknesses in an IT environment.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CS0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CS0-004 exam.