CVSS 3.1 Calculator — Obsidian Plugin

An Obsidian plugin that opens a single popup to compute CVSS 3.1 scores interactively. Select all metric options, see the score update in real time, then copy the vector string or insert the result directly into your note.

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Features

• Single wide modal — all 8 Base Score metrics visible without scrolling
• Live score computation as you click options
• Color-coded severity badge (Info / Low / Medium / High / Critical)
• Displays the full CVSS vector string (e.g. CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
• Copy Vector — copies the vector string to the clipboard
• Insert into note — inserts the score and vector at the cursor in the active markdown note
• Change CVSS of open finding — fuzzy-search all open findings and update their CVSS frontmatter properties in one step
• Change CVSS of current note — update the CVSS of whatever note is currently open, regardless of its status
• Accessible via ribbon icon (shield) or Command Palette

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Metrics covered

Group	Metric	Values
Exploitability	Attack Vector (AV)	Network, Adjacent, Local, Physical
Exploitability	Attack Complexity (AC)	Low, High
Exploitability	Privileges Required (PR)	None, Low, High
Exploitability	User Interaction (UI)	None, Required
Scope	Scope (S)	Unchanged, Changed
Impact	Confidentiality (C)	None, Low, High
Impact	Integrity (I)	None, Low, High
Impact	Availability (A)	None, Low, High

Privileges Required weights are automatically adjusted when Scope = Changed, as per the CVSS 3.1 specification.

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Severity ratings

Score range	Rating
0.0	Info
0.1 – 3.9	Low
4.0 – 6.9	Medium
7.0 – 8.9	High
9.0 – 10.0	Critical

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Installation (manual)

1. Build the plugin (see below) or download a release.
2. Copy these three files into your vault's plugin folder:

   <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/cvss-calculator/main.js
   <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/cvss-calculator/manifest.json
   <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/cvss-calculator/styles.css
   

3. In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community plugins, disable Safe Mode if prompted, and enable CVSS 3.1 Calculator.

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Development & build

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16 or later
• npm

Setup

git clone <repo-url>
cd obsidian-cvss
npm install

Build for production

npm run build

Outputs main.js (minified, no source map) alongside manifest.json and styles.css. Copy all three to your plugin folder.

Watch mode (development)

npm run dev

Watches main.ts for changes and rebuilds with inline source maps. Useful when the plugin folder is symlinked to the repo root:

# Example: symlink the repo directly into the vault
ln -s /path/to/obsidian-cvss /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/cvss-calculator

Then enable the plugin in Obsidian and use Ctrl+R (or the "Reload app without saving" command) to pick up changes.

Project structure

obsidian-cvss/
├── main.ts            # Plugin source (TypeScript)
├── main.js            # Compiled output (generated — do not edit)
├── styles.css         # Modal styles
├── manifest.json      # Obsidian plugin metadata
├── package.json       # npm scripts and dev dependencies
├── tsconfig.json      # TypeScript compiler config
└── esbuild.config.mjs # Bundler config

Toolchain

Tool	Purpose
TypeScript 4.7	Type-safe source
esbuild 0.17	Fast bundler / minifier
obsidian (npm)	Obsidian API type definitions

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Scoring algorithm

Implements the CVSS 3.1 Base Score formula exactly as defined by FIRST:

ISS        = 1 − [(1 − C) × (1 − I) × (1 − A)]
Impact     = 6.42 × ISS                                         (Scope Unchanged)
           = 7.52 × [ISS − 0.029] − 3.25 × [ISS − 0.02]^15    (Scope Changed)
Exploitability = 8.22 × AV × AC × PR × UI
Base Score = Roundup(Min[Impact + Exploitability, 10])           (Scope Unchanged)
           = Roundup(Min[1.08 × (Impact + Exploitability), 10]) (Scope Changed)

Roundup returns the smallest value with one decimal place greater than or equal to the input.

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Usage

Standalone calculator

1. Click the shield icon in the left ribbon, or open the Command Palette and run CVSS Calculator.
2. Click one button per metric — the score updates instantly after all 8 are selected.
3. Use Copy Vector to copy the vector string, or Insert into note to write the result at the cursor:

**CVSS 3.1 Score:** 9.8 (Critical)
`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`

Update CVSS of an open finding

1. Open the Command Palette and run Change CVSS of open finding.
2. Type to filter — the list shows all notes whose frontmatter has stato or status set to aperto or open (case-insensitive).
3. Select a note. The CVSS calculator opens; if the note already has a cvss_vector, the metrics are pre-selected.
4. Adjust the metrics and click Update CVSS. The following frontmatter properties are written (or overwritten):

Property	Example value
cvss_vector	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cvss_score	9.8
cvss_severity	CRITICAL
cvss_link	https://www.first.org/cvss/calculator/3.1#CVSS:3.1/…

cvss_severity is always written in uppercase (INFO, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL).

Update CVSS of the current note

1. Open the Command Palette and run Change CVSS of current note.
2. The CVSS calculator opens targeting the active note — no status filter applied.
3. Metrics are pre-selected if cvss_vector already exists. Click Update CVSS to write the same four frontmatter properties listed above.

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License

MIT