What is the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)?

• A. A U.S. government repository of standards-based vulnerability management data that uses SCAP
• B. A cloud-based vulnerability scanner
• C. A private cloud storage service
• D. A non-profit vulnerability mailing list

Answer: (A)

The National Vulnerability Database is a U.S. government repository for vulnerability management data that is built around standards like CVE identifiers, CVSS scores, and CPE product names. Maintained by NIST, it provides enriched, machine-readable vulnerability information and uses the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) to enable automated collection, sharing, and integration of this data. This makes it a reference source that vulnerability scanners, patch management tools, and security software rely on to identify and prioritize flaws across products.

It’s not a cloud-based vulnerability scanner, not a private cloud storage service, and not a mailing list for vulnerabilities. If you need a centralized, standardized library of vulnerability data you can query programmatically, that’s what NVD offers.