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WARMUP 5 min

What is a CVE?

CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) is a dictionary of publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Each CVE has a unique identifier like CVE-2024-3094 — a severity score (CVSS), and a description of the flaw.

CVE ID
Year + sequential number (e.g., CVE-2023-xxxxx)
CVSS SCORE
0.0–10.0 severity rating (Critical ≥ 9.0)
ADVISORY
Patch notes, mitigation steps, vendor info
CORE 45 min
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Vulnerability Scanning

Automated tools compare system fingerprints against databases of known vulnerabilities.

Nessus
Commercial scanner, thousands of plugins. Scans for missing patches, weak configs, default creds.
OpenVAS
Open-source alternative. Greenbone Security Assistant frontend.
Nikto
Web server scanner — tests for outdated software, dangerous files, misconfigurations.
Nmap NSE
Nmap Scripting Engine — customisable vulnerability checks.
nmap --script vuln 192.168.1.105 # NSE vulnerability scan
nikto -h http://192.168.1.105 # Web server scan
Risk Assessment

Not all vulnerabilities are equal. Risk = Likelihood × Impact. Prioritise based on CVSS, exploitability, and business context.

SeverityCVSS RangeAction
Critical9.0–10.0Fix within 24 hours
High7.0–8.9Fix within 7 days
Medium4.0–6.9Fix within 30 days
Low0.1–3.9Fix when possible
Vulnerability Reporting

A professional report must be clear, actionable, and non-technical enough for management while detailed enough for engineers.

Report Structure
  1. Executive Summary — risk posture, key findings
  2. Scope & Methodology — what was tested, tools used
  3. Findings — each vuln with CVE, CVSS, description, evidence
  4. Remediation — step-by-step fix instructions
  5. Appendix — raw scan data, references
MINI CHALLENGE 10 min
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Prioritise Vulnerabilities

You've found five vulnerabilities in a production web app. Rank them by priority (1 = fix first):

CVE-2024-1234 — RCE in Apache 2.4.41 (CVSS 9.8)
Self-signed HTTPS certificate (CVSS 5.3)
Default admin password still active (CVSS 7.5)
Missing X-Content-Type-Options header (CVSS 4.3)
SQL injection in login form (CVSS 8.6)
MAIN PROJECT 4 hours
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Write a Vulnerability Assessment Report

Using the vulnerabilities from the mini challenge, write a professional VA report. Include:

1
Executive Summary

One paragraph summarising overall risk and critical findings.

2
Findings Table

CVE, CVSS, description, affected component, priority ranking.

3
Remediation Plan

Specific steps to fix each vulnerability.

QUIZ 10 min
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Vulnerability Management Quiz

1. What does CVE stand for?

Common Vulnerability Exploit
Central Vulnerability Engine
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures

2. Which CVSS score range is considered Critical?

7.0–8.9
9.0–10.0
4.0–6.9

3. What is the main purpose of a vulnerability scanner?

To exploit vulnerabilities automatically
To identify known vulnerabilities in systems
To patch vulnerabilities