CISA/NSA Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD) Program Guidance

Technical Analysis

The guidance provides a framework rather than describing an active exploit, malware, or vulnerability, covering key CVD program elements such as intake channels, triage workflows, remediation timelines, CVE ID assignment, and safe harbor provisions for researchers. It also discusses leveraging CISA or national CSIRTs as intermediaries when organizations lack internal CVD capacity. No specific CVEs, malware families, or attack techniques are referenced since this is a process and policy document rather than an incident report. For organizations operating AI agent frameworks, RAG pipelines, or LLM tool-use systems, adopting a mature CVD program is indirectly beneficial since it establishes structured channels for researchers to responsibly report vulnerabilities in agent orchestration code, plugin/tool integrations, and model-serving infrastructure before they are exploited.

Affected Systems

Not applicable — this is organizational policy guidance applicable broadly to software manufacturers, online service providers, and any organization producing or maintaining software/systems, including those building AI agent platforms.

Indicators of Compromise

• None — this is a policy/guidance document with no associated indicators of compromise.

Remediation Steps

1. 1

   Establish a Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP)

   Publish a clear, accessible VDP defining scope, reporting channels, expected response times, and safe harbor terms for researchers.

2. 2

   Build a Triage and Remediation Workflow

   Implement internal processes to validate, prioritize, and remediate reported vulnerabilities, including those in AI agent tooling, model APIs, and integration plugins.

3. 3

   Assign CVE Identifiers

   Work with CVE Numbering Authorities (CNAs) or CISA to properly catalog and track disclosed vulnerabilities.

4. 4

   Leverage Third-Party Intermediaries

   Use CISA or national CSIRTs to supplement internal CVD capacity where resources are limited.

5. 5

   Extend CVD Coverage to AI/Agent Components

   Ensure vulnerability disclosure scope explicitly includes AI agent frameworks, RAG pipelines, plugins, and tool-use integrations, as these are increasingly targeted attack surfaces.