This CS0-003 practice question tests your understanding of vulnerability management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Based on the scan output, which vulnerability should be prioritized first for remediation?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
CVE-2019-16905
Why wrong: CVSS 7.5, lower priority.
CVE-2020-15778
Highest CVSS score (9.8).
CVE-2020-12060
Why wrong: CVSS 5.3, lowest priority.
Both A and B equally.
Why wrong: A has a higher score and should be prioritized first.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
CVE-2020-15778
CVE-2020-15778 is a critical command injection vulnerability in OpenSSH's scp utility (CVE-2020-15778) that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the target system by crafting a malicious scp source path. This vulnerability has a CVSS score of 8.8 (High) and is remotely exploitable without authentication, making it the highest priority for remediation over the other listed CVEs.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
CVE-2019-16905
Why it's wrong here
CVSS 7.5, lower priority.
CVE-2020-15778
Why this is correct
Highest CVSS score (9.8).
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
CVE-2020-12060
Why it's wrong here
CVSS 5.3, lowest priority.
Both A and B equally.
Why it's wrong here
A has a higher score and should be prioritized first.
Common exam traps
CompTIA often tests the principle that remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities with no authentication requirement should always be prioritized over local privilege escalation or denial-of-service vulnerabilities, even if the latter have higher CVSS scores in some categories.
Detailed technical explanation
CVE-2020-15778 exploits the way OpenSSH's scp handles source file paths: when scp receives a path containing a backtick (`) or shell metacharacter, it passes the path to the shell for expansion without proper sanitization, allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary commands. This is a classic shell injection flaw in the scp protocol (RFC 4251), and it affects all OpenSSH versions prior to 8.3p1. In a real-world scenario, an attacker could use this to gain a foothold on a server by sending a crafted scp request to a user who has an SSH key-based trust relationship with the target.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security team runs a vulnerability scan on a web application and discovers an unpatched SQL injection flaw. The team prioritises remediation by CVSS score — critical flaws are patched within 24 hours, high within 7 days. Questions like this test whether you understand vulnerability management processes, scanning tools, and remediation prioritisation.
What to study next
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FAQ
Vulnerability Management — This question tests Vulnerability Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: CVE-2020-15778 — CVE-2020-15778 is a critical command injection vulnerability in OpenSSH's scp utility (CVE-2020-15778) that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the target system by crafting a malicious scp source path. This vulnerability has a CVSS score of 8.8 (High) and is remotely exploitable without authentication, making it the highest priority for remediation over the other listed CVEs.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This CS0-003 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 CS0-003 exam.
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