- A
High severity
Why wrong: High severity is 7.0-8.9.
- B
Medium severity
Why wrong: Medium severity is 4.0-6.9.
- C
Low severity
Why wrong: Low severity is typically 0.1-3.9.
- D
Critical severity
A score of 9.8 falls in the critical range (9.0-10.0).
Question 759 of 1,000
CISSP Security Assessment and Testing Practice Question
This CISSP practice question tests your understanding of security assessment and testing. 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.
A vulnerability scanner reports a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8. What does this score indicate?
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
✓
Critical severity
A CVSS score of 9.8 falls within the range of 9.0–10.0, which is classified as 'Critical' severity according to the CVSS v3.1 specification. This score typically indicates a vulnerability that can be exploited remotely without authentication and with low attack complexity, often leading to complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
High severity
Why it's wrong here
High severity is 7.0-8.9.
- ✗
Medium severity
Why it's wrong here
Medium severity is 4.0-6.9.
- ✗
Low severity
Why it's wrong here
Low severity is typically 0.1-3.9.
- ✓
Critical severity
Why this is correct
A score of 9.8 falls in the critical range (9.0-10.0).
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse the CVSS v3.1 severity rating scale with the older v2 scale, where scores of 7.0–10.0 were all labeled 'High', but in v3.1, 9.0–10.0 is explicitly 'Critical'.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 is derived from an Attack Vector of 'Network' (AV:N), Attack Complexity of 'Low' (AC:L), Privileges Required of 'None' (PR:N), User Interaction of 'None' (UI:N), and a Scope of 'Unchanged' (S:U), combined with high Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability impacts (C:H/I:H/A:H). In real-world scenarios, this score is often assigned to vulnerabilities like remote code execution flaws in widely deployed services (e.g., Log4Shell CVE-2021-44228) that allow an unauthenticated attacker to fully compromise a system over the network.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
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
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Security Assessment and Testing — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CISSP question test?
Security Assessment and Testing — This question tests Security Assessment and Testing — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Critical severity — A CVSS score of 9.8 falls within the range of 9.0–10.0, which is classified as 'Critical' severity according to the CVSS v3.1 specification. This score typically indicates a vulnerability that can be exploited remotely without authentication and with low attack complexity, often leading to complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
What should I do if I get this CISSP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This CISSP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CISSP exam.
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