The base metric represents the inherent qualities of a vulnerability, according to the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). CVSS is a framework that numerically characterizes the severity of software vulnerabilities between the range of 0-10. CVSS consists of three metric groups: Base, Temporal, and Environmental. The base metric group captures the characteristics of a vulnerability that are constant over time and across user environments. The base metric group consists of six sub-metrics: Attack Vector, Attack Complexity, Privileges Required, User Interaction, Scope, and Impact. The impact sub-metric further consists of three sub-metrics: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. The base metric group produces a score ranging from 0 to 10, which reflects the intrinsic and fundamental properties of a vulnerability12.

The other options are not correct for the following reasons:

A. Temporal metric represents the inherent qualities of a vulnerability: This option is incorrect because the temporal metric group captures the characteristics of a vulnerability that change over time due to events external to the vulnerability. The temporal metric group consists of three sub-metrics: Exploit Code Maturity, Remediation Level, and Report Confidence. The temporal metric group modifies the base score to reflect the current state of the vulnerability, such as the availability of exploit code, the existence of patches or workarounds, and the degree of verification of the vulnerability report12.

C. Environmental metric involves the features that change during the lifetime of the vulnerability: This option is incorrect because the environmental metric group captures the characteristics of a vulnerability that are relevant and unique to a user’s environment. The environmental metric group consists of three sub-metrics: Modified Attack Vector, Modified Attack Complexity, and Modified Privileges Required. The environmental metric group also allows the user to assign importance values to the impact sub-metrics: Confidentiality Requirement, Integrity Requirement, and Availability Requirement. The environmental metric group modifies the base and temporal scores to reflect the impact of the vulnerability on the user’s specific environment, such as the network configuration, the security objectives, and the asset value12.

D. Temporal metric involves measuring vulnerabilities based on a specific environment or implementation: This option is incorrect because the temporal metric group does not involve measuring vulnerabilities based on a specific environment or implementation, but rather on the factors that change over time due to events external to the vulnerability. The environmental metric group, not the temporal metric group, involves measuring vulnerabilities based on a specific environment or implementation, as explained in option C.

References:

1: What is CVSS - Common Vulnerability Scoring System - SANS Institute

2: Common Vulnerability Scoring System - Wikipedia