GSD
Global Security Database
Offene, community-getriebene Schwachstellen-Datenbank
The GSD is an open-source project of the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) aiming to build an open, community-maintained alternative or complement to the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system. The data is managed via Git under a free licence and is meant to address the gaps perceived in classic vulnerability identifiers. Conceptually the GSD identifier resembles the CVE but relies on an open contribution process.
History & facts. The GSD grew from the observation that no single ecosystem can be solely responsible for vulnerability data, and that every community otherwise builds its own island solution. As a neutral non-profit, the CSA gives the project a home, a working group and the infrastructure (Git repositories, free CC0 data). Identifiers follow the pattern GSD-YEAR-NUMBER.
Outlook & recommendation. Despite its compelling approach, the GSD has so far not displaced the established Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system and remains, by comparison, a complementary, niche source. Its real significance lies in the signal: it makes visible the debate about governance and resilience of vulnerability data — a debate further fuelled by the 2025 CVE funding crisis. In practice it is today an object to watch, not a primary source.