On April 16, 2025, MITRE’s contract to operate and maintain the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) program officially expired, placing the global cybersecurity community at risk of losing one of its most vital resources.
As announced by MITRE on April 15, the federally funded CVE program — which provides unique identifiers for known software and hardware vulnerabilities — has not received renewed funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Without this support, new CVEs will no longer be issued, despite the platform continuing to host previously published data.
Why This Matters
At Sense Defence AI, we view the CVE system as foundational infrastructure for the modern cybersecurity ecosystem. It enables defenders to:
- Speak a unified language about vulnerabilities.
- Efficiently prioritize remediation across environments.
- Power countless tools that rely on real-time CVE feeds for detection, response, and compliance.
If this centralized system falters, threat actors gain time, space, and confusion to exploit, while defenders lose clarity.
As MITRE Vice President Yosry Barsoum stated in a letter to the CVE board:
“If a break in service were to occur, we anticipate multiple impacts to CVE, including deterioration of national vulnerability databases and advisories, tool vendors, incident response operations, and all manner of critical infrastructure.”
The Broader Risk
With CISA facing federal budget and staffing cuts, there is currently no confirmed replacement or continuity plan. The consequences could include:
- Delayed vulnerability response due to missing or fragmented disclosures.
- Tool and platform degradation, as CVE data powers vulnerability scanners, SIEMs, dashboards, and patch management systems.
- Increased exposure windows for critical infrastructure, enterprise applications, and cloud services.
What the Community Should Do
As a cybersecurity company committed to protecting digital frontiers, Sense Defence AI urges:
- Government stakeholders to act swiftly and restore CVE program funding.
- Vendors and defenders to prepare for temporary fragmentation and establish backup monitoring strategies.
- Security professionals worldwide to raise awareness and advocate for sustained, secure funding of shared public cyber infrastructure.
Final Thought
The CVE system is not just a list — it is the bedrock of global vulnerability coordination. Undermining it disrupts every level of cyber defense.
At Sense Defence AI, we remain committed to adapting and supporting the community through this uncertainty — but we stand with the broader security ecosystem in calling for urgent and permanent funding of the CVE program.
#CVE #MITRE #VulnerabilityManagement #CyberSecurity #SenseDefenceAI #ThreatIntel #Infosec #CISA #DigitalDefence #RiskManagement #CyberResilience
