Original Post: EPSS: A New Era in Vulnerability Prioritization | by basak erdogan | Jun, 2024
The Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) is a metric designed to predict the likelihood of software vulnerabilities being exploited by attackers. After identifying vulnerabilities, EPSS helps security teams prioritize them based on their potential exploitation in real-world scenarios. The system uses data collection, modeling, scoring, and regular updates to keep the scores relevant to the evolving threat landscape.
An illustrative example compares EPSS to an AI assistant for superheroes, prioritizing incidents (like bank robberies, traffic accidents, and cat rescues) based on urgency. Similarly, EPSS helps security teams focus on the most critical vulnerabilities.
EPSS differs from the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) by focusing on the probability of exploitation rather than the intrinsic severity of vulnerabilities. Combining EPSS with CVSS enables more effective prioritization of vulnerabilities.
Several tools and platforms integrate EPSS scores for enhanced vulnerability management, such as the National Vulnerability Database, Qualys, InsightVM, Tenable.io, Snyk, and Splunk.
For practical application, the article provides links to tools like the EPSS Browser and Tesorion Vulnerability Explorer, and introduces a GitHub project for an EPSS-based CVE prioritization tool. The author encourages readers to use and provide feedback on these tools.
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