March 22, 2024 at 09:53AM
The NIST has drastically reduced the analysis of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) in the National Vulnerability Database, posing challenges for IT security professionals. The organization’s budget cuts and workload are suspected reasons. The cybersecurity community is concerned about the impact, although alternative sources like Open Source Vulnerabilities are available. Efforts are underway to address the missing data in the NVD.
Based on the provided meeting notes, it seems that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has significantly reduced its analysis and updating of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) in the National Vulnerability Database (NVD). This has raised concerns within the cybersecurity community, as the lack of detailed vulnerability information could make identifying and mitigating risks challenging.
The reduction in NIST’s efforts may be attributed to staff being overworked and under-budgeted, as well as a significant increase in the number of filed CVEs, including many potentially irrelevant or bogus entries. The organization’s latest budget cuts and allocation of funds to unrelated missions have also contributed to the situation.
The implications of this lapse in CVE analysis are significant, particularly for those who rely on NVD data for security tools and compliance requirements. While some alternative sources like Open Source Vulnerabilities (OSV) and the GitHub Security Advisory DB are available, many still depend on NVD, especially for federal government contracts where its usage is mandated by law.
Efforts to address the missing NVD data are underway, including the development of open source projects like NVD Data Overrides by companies such as Anchore. However, the sheer breadth of NVD’s coverage makes finding a complete replacement challenging. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that NIST, the NVD, and the CVE Program have played critical roles in managing cybersecurity risk for over 20 years, despite the challenges and criticisms they have faced.
In conclusion, while the reduced NVD update frequency poses challenges, efforts are being made to mitigate the impact and find alternative solutions to ensure comprehensive vulnerability data is available to the cybersecurity community and those bound by compliance regulations.