CS0-003 Reporting and Communication Practice Question
Which metric measures the average time taken to fix a vulnerability after it is identified?
⚠ Common exam trap
CS0-004 often tests the MTTR vs MTTRem vs MTTD acronym collision — candidates pick C because MTTR is the more familiar term, but MTTR is response time, while MTTRem is specifically remediation time after identification.
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
✓
Mean time to remediate (MTTRem)
Mean time to remediate (MTTRem) is defined as the average elapsed time between when a vulnerability is identified and when it is fully remediated (patched, mitigated, or accepted with compensating controls). This matches the question's wording exactly — identification to fix.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Mean time to remediate (MTTRem)
Why this is correct
Mean time to remediate is calculated as the average duration between when a vulnerability is identified and when it is actually fixed or closed, making it the direct metric for tracking remediation speed described in the question.
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Mean time to detect (MTTD)
Why it's wrong here
MTTD measures the elapsed time from a vulnerability's introduction or disclosure until it is identified, stopping before remediation begins. It is tempting because detection and fix times are often tracked together, but the question asks about time after identification.
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Mean time to respond (MTTR)
Why it's wrong here
MTTR averages the time from detection to containment or resolution of an incident, not the interval from vulnerability identification to remediation. It is tempting because the acronym overlaps with remediation metrics, but its scope is incident response.
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Patch SLA compliance %
Why it's wrong here
Patch SLA compliance reports the percentage of vulnerabilities patched within a defined window, not an average duration. It is tempting because it also concerns remediation timeliness, but it yields a proportion rather than the mean time to fix.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Compensating Controls for Unpatched Vulnerabilities
Key term
Metric
A metric is a quantifiable measurement used to assess the performance, health, or status of IT systems, networks, or applications.
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.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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.