The Importance of EPSS in Vulnerability Prioritization: A Holistic Approach

The Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) is an emerging technology developed by the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) for estimating the likelihood of a software vulnerability being exploited in the wild. It provides a probability score between 0 and 1, with higher scores indicating a greater probability of exploitation. EPSS is often compared to the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), which measures severity based on principal characteristics of a vulnerability. Researchers have found that EPSS outperforms CVSS in terms of reduction in effort for vulnerabilities with a base CVSS above 9.0. However, EPSS should not be considered as a comprehensive solution to all vulnerability prioritization challenges and should be used alongside other vulnerability management techniques such as business impact analysis and fix availability assessment. By adopting an integrated approach to vulnerability prioritization, organizations can make better-informed decisions and allocate resources more effectively to protect their systems and data from potential threats.