CVE Lookup

A command-line tool that fetches CVE vulnerability details from the NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and displays them with an optional plain-English AI summary powered by Claude.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+

Installation

git clone <repo>
cd cve-lookup
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Set up API key

A Claude API key is optional — the tool displays full NVD data without one. The AI summary section will be skipped if the key is absent.

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

Usage

python cve_lookup.py CVE-2021-44228
python cve_lookup.py CVE-2023-23397
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... python cve_lookup.py CVE-2024-1234

Notes

• Claude summary is optional — if ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is not set, the tool still fetches and displays all NVD data; the plain-English summary section will indicate the key is missing.
• The NVD API is free and requires no authentication — rate limits apply for high-volume use; the tool surfaces a clear message if you hit them.