Faddom can warn you of any CVEs that affect your systems. This provides you with a view of all the detected vulnerabilities, which servers they affect and which software and versions they are relevant for. Limited internet access is required for this feature.
What Is A CVE?
CVE stands for Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures. When a security vulnerability is discovered, researchers or vendors can request a CVE ID from the CVE Numbering Authorities (CNAs) to help facilitate communication and awareness of the issue. These identifiers are used to provide a standardized way of referencing and discussing vulnerabilities across different platforms, tools, and information sources. This helps in understanding, tracking, and managing vulnerabilities in software and hardware systems.
Prerequisites
Faddom requires access to https://api.support.faddom.com to read the updated CVE database. Faddom only receives the details of the software and version that is in your environment and which operating system it is installed on. No server or customer information is transmitted. If an HTTP proxy is setup in the Global Parameters then Faddom will access the API through that proxy.
Setting Up Software And CVE Discovery is done and working
How to Discover CVEs
1. View CVEs from the Dashboard
You can see on the main dashboard of Faddom the number of vulnerabilities detected.
2. Access the CVE Dashboard
By clicking on this number, you are then taken to the CVE screen within the Security Dashboard. Alternatively, you can select Secure > CVEs.
3. Filter and Search CVEs
From this dashboard, you can apply filters to search for CVEs by:
Score - Critical, High, Medium, Low (default order)
Server - Specific servers or groups
Application Map - Vulnerabilities affecting specific applications
Date - When the CVE was detected
4. View CVE Details
You can click on the arrow next to the CVE name to get more information on the CVE, which includes:
Link to the CVE details
Maps with affected servers
Score indicating how critical the CVE is
5. Ignore CVEs (Optional)
If, for some reason, you wish to ignore a specific CVE, you can select one or more, then click Ignore Selected CVEs.
If you wish to restore CVEs that you have previously ignored, you can reverse this by clicking on X Ignored CVEs, selecting the ignored CVEs and click Don't Ignore CVEs.
Understanding CPE Matching
What Is A CPE?
Once software is discovered, Faddom maps it to CPEs (Common Platform Enumerations). CPE is the standardized format used by vulnerability databases to identify software products and versions.
Example CPE: cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019
Without a valid CPE match, CVEs cannot be correlated. CPE coverage determines CVE coverage.
How to Match a CVE
If CVE detection is enabled but no CVEs appear, it may be due to software isn't matched to a CPE.
Matching CPE
Navigate to Secure > Software Inventory
Enable the Show only Unmatched CPEs filter to display software without CPE mappings
Locate the software that needs matching
Click Match CVE next to the software item
Use Faddom's manual matching tool to assign the correct CPE
Software without CPE matchings will not show any vulnerabilities. Faddom matches CPEs automatically in most cases, but vendor-specific or proprietary software often requires manual matching.
Why Linux Shows More CVEs Than Windows
Linux systems typically show more CVEs because:
Standardized package managers (apt, yum, dnf) provide consistent package names and versions
Package names map cleanly to CPEs in public vulnerability databases
Open-source software has better CPE coverage in NIST databases
Windows software, especially proprietary or enterprise applications, often uses vendor-specific naming conventions that don't match CPE standards reliably and may require manual CPE mapping.
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