SSCP Risk Identification, Monitoring, and Analysis Practice Question
A vulnerability scan identifies a critical vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8. According to standard remediation SLAs, within what timeframe should this vulnerability typically be remediated?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse the CVSS severity categories with the typical SLA timeframes, often assuming that all 'critical' vulnerabilities have a 7-day window, when in fact the most severe (9.0–10.0) require remediation within 24–72 hours per standard industry frameworks like PCI DSS or NIST.
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
✓
24-72 hours
A CVSS score of 9.8 falls into the 'Critical' severity range (9.0–10.0). Standard remediation SLAs for critical vulnerabilities typically require action within 24–72 hours because such vulnerabilities often allow remote code execution or complete compromise without authentication, posing an immediate and severe risk to the organization.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
30 days
Why it's wrong here
This is typical for high vulnerabilities.
- ✓
24-72 hours
Why this is correct
Critical vulnerabilities require immediate attention.
- ✗
7 days
Why it's wrong here
This is more typical for high vulnerabilities.
- ✗
90 days
Why it's wrong here
This is typical for medium vulnerabilities.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP 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 SSCP exam.