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    Cybersecurity

    Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures(CVE)

    In one line
    A globally unique identifier for a publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerability.
    Definition
    Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) is a public catalog of disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities, each assigned a unique CVE ID (e.g., CVE-2024-12345). The program is operated by MITRE and sponsored by CISA. CVE IDs are the lingua franca of vulnerability management - they let manufacturers, hospitals, researchers, and security tooling refer to the same vulnerability unambiguously across SBOMs, advisories, vulnerability scanners, and patch notes.
    Why it matters
    Modern MedTech vulnerability programs ingest CVE feeds (NVD, OSV.dev, vendor advisories) automatically, match them against each device's SBOM, and route confirmed-applicable CVEs into the existing CAPA or post-market surveillance workflow. VEX statements communicate exploitability decisions to operators so hospitals don't have to triage every CVE themselves.
    Common pitfalls
    • •Treating CVSS score alone as the prioritization signal - exploitability and reachability matter more than headline severity.
    • •Manually tracking CVEs without automation against the SBOM - humans miss them.
    • •Failing to publish VEX statements, leaving hospitals to assume every CVE in the SBOM is exploitable.
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    Cybersecurity

    Common Vulnerability Scoring System(CVSS)

    In one line
    An industry-standard 0–10 score that quantifies the severity of a software vulnerability.
    Definition
    The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an open, industry-standard framework - currently at version 4.0 (2023) - for assigning a numeric severity score (0.0–10.0) to a software vulnerability. CVSS produces three score types: Base (intrinsic characteristics), Temporal/Threat (how exploitability evolves), and Environmental (impact in a specific deployment). NVD publishes Base scores for every CVE; manufacturers and operators apply Temporal and Environmental adjustments locally.
    Why it matters
    CVSS is most useful as a starting point for triage. Mature MedTech teams take the NVD Base score, apply Environmental modifiers (is the vulnerable code path reachable in our device? is the affected interface exposed?), and combine the result with clinical-harm severity from ISO 14971 to make patch-priority decisions.
    Common pitfalls
    • •Patching by Base score alone - high-CVSS vulnerabilities in unreachable code waste cycles; low-CVSS vulnerabilities that bridge networks may be urgent.
    • •Ignoring Environmental metrics - they're the whole point of bringing CVSS into a device-specific risk decision.
    • •Reporting CVSS scores to operators without your VEX exploitability assessment.
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    Why compare MedTech terms side by side?

    MedTech terminology is full of pairs that look interchangeable but carry very different regulatory, clinical, and commercial consequences. Picking the wrong framework, pathway, or standard early in a project can add months to a submission, invalidate clinical evidence, or trigger an audit finding. Side-by-side comparison is the fastest way to surface those differences before they become costly mistakes.

    Each comparison on this page pulls from the same vendor-neutral, sourced definitions used throughout the MedTech Terms glossary. You see the one-line summary, the formal definition, why it matters in practice, common pitfalls, and the primary sources (FDA guidance, EU MDR/IVDR articles, ISO/IEC standards, MDCG documents, IMDRF principles) that back each entry. That makes the comparison defensible in regulatory strategy memos, design reviews, and submission narratives.

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    MedTech Terms is a vendor-neutral community resource sponsored by Blue Goat Cyber. Definitions are written for educational use and are not legal or regulatory advice.