CVE Vulnerability Expert
Listing checked August 29, 2026 · pay as published by Mercor
Overview
You will review vulnerability-reproduction and remediation assignments that feed the training and evaluation pipeline of a frontier AI lab. Each assignment asks you to judge whether CVE reproductions match the real-world flaw, whether the proposed fix actually eliminates the risk, and whether the verification logic can catch a regression. You will also inspect Docker Compose environments to confirm they recreate the exploitable condition described in the CVE. The output is a structured, rubric-based evaluation that shapes how the lab improves its model training data. The role is a remote, hourly engagement for security professionals based in the United States.
What You'll Do6
- 1Review CVE reproduction reports and determine whether the documented exploit steps match the real-world vulnerability.
- 2Scrutinize proposed remediation code and flag any fix that leaves part of the underlying weakness open or introduces new problems.
- 3Evaluate the strength of two-part verification suites, checking both the functionality test and the vulnerability test for blind spots.
- 4Run and inspect Docker Compose lab environments to confirm they reproduce the exact exploitable condition described in the CVE.
- 5Assign severity and classification scores using frameworks like CVSS, CWE, and CAPEC when judging the reproduction's completeness.
- 6Write clear, rubric-based evaluation notes that explain each scoring decision and highlight concrete gaps for the task authors.
Requirements9
- 1At least 3 years of hands-on application security, penetration testing, or vulnerability research experience.
- 2Working familiarity with CVE taxonomy and severity scoring, including CVSS, CWE, and CAPEC.
- 3Demonstrated skill in secure coding review and remediation across vulnerability classes such as SQL injection, command injection, buffer overflow, deserialization, SSRF, and privilege escalation.
- 4Experience designing or evaluating two-part verification logic: a functionality test paired with a vulnerability test.
- 5Practical knowledge of Docker and Docker Compose for building multi-container environments that reproduce exploitable conditions.
- 6An offensive security certification such as OSCP, GPEN, or GWAPT.
- 7Prior work in responsible disclosure, CVE submission, or maintaining exploit proof-of-concept code.
- 8Experience with DevSecOps, CI/CD security gating, or SAST/DAST tooling.
- 9Previous involvement in technical content review, assessment design, or QA for security-focused engineering tasks.
Who Should Apply
The ideal candidate is a security practitioner who has spent years reproducing vulnerabilities and judging whether patches close the hole. If you can inspect a Docker Compose lab and see right away whether the exploit condition is realistic, this contract fits you. This role is less suitable for security engineers who focus on building defenses and have limited exposure to exploit development or CVE analysis. Candidates often get screened out when their background leans toward policy or GRC instead of hands-on exploitation. Another common miss is being unable to explain how a verification suite can pass while the underlying vulnerability remains.
Salary Insight
The contract pays $70-$90 per hour. For a security review role requiring CVE reproduction and exploit logic expertise, that rate sits at the senior end of independent consulting rates in the U.S. market. The pay band reflects the specialized nature of the evaluation and the expectation of fast, high-quality technical judgment.
Pay and demand for Quality Assurance & Testing roles
AggregatedTypical pay
$70/hour
This role
$70–$90/hr
Most Quality Assurance & Testing roles pay $41–$90 per hour. This role's pay falls inside that range.
Based on 266 similar roles that publish pay · 116 publish only a top rate; those count at the rate they gave
Rates shown per hour. Yearly and monthly pay converted; one-time fees and non-USD pay are not included.
- Live similar roles
- 330
- Listed in last 30 days
- 135
- Remote
- 93%
Hiring most right now: SME Careers (114) · micro1 (77) · AfterQuery (38)
Most requested skills · share of roles
- llm evaluation28%
- ai training28%
- trainer feedback25%
- documentation21%
Figures from Quality Assurance & Testing roles live on NearSkill when this page loaded. A role can close before you apply, so check the listing itself.
Compare your resume against these rolesLocation
Compensation
$70–90/hr
Required Skills
Application Tip
In your application, describe one CVE you have reproduced or reviewed and walk through how you would evaluate its verification logic. Name the exact Docker setup and the frameworks you applied, and be ready to explain why a specific remediation was either sound or incomplete.
How NearSkill helps you apply
1. Check your job match
We compare your resume with the job requirements to help you understand how well your experience fits.
2. Continue to the employer’s website
We’ll direct you to the employer’s application portal, where you can complete the application.
3. Get updates by email
If NearSkill is handling follow-up for this role, we’ll email you when there’s an update on your screening.
Want to check your fit first?
See how your resume matches this role before applying.
Check my job matchSimilar open positions
Explore active roles that match your skills and interests.
Micro1
VerifiedVulnerability Researcher and Staff Security Engineer
Remote role for a vulnerability researcher and staff-level security expert who operates as an internal adversary to uncover novel attack paths. You’ll study threats across AI agents, cloud infrastructure, developer platforms, and production systems, then collaborate with engineering to raise the stack’s resilience. Expect to build offensive tooling and publish internal research to shape security strategy. The position is full-time and focused on practical, hands-on security work in a remote setting. Bold Multi-Cloud, Red Teaming, AI security.
Mercor
VerifiedCybersecurity Research Expert – Offensive Security & Vulnerability Research
Mercor is hiring experienced Cybersecurity Research Experts to test how well frontier AI models handle advanced security reasoning, vulnerability analysis, and exploit development. In this remote, hourly contract role, you'll review AI-generated security assessments, validate root-cause findings, and help build benchmarks that push AI security capabilities forward. This is a fit for practitioners with a strong track record in offensive security and a public portfolio of technical contributions.
AfterQuery
VerifiedCybersecurity Expert
AfterQuery seeks a Cybersecurity Expert for a paid, part-time remote project that trains frontier AI models on security workflows. The core work involves building code repositories with OSS-fuzz-style vulnerabilities, then writing and validating patches that fix them. Tasks run async, so you can schedule them around a full-time job, evenings or weekends. The listing quotes $75.00/hr, and project notes mention per-task bonuses plus a $200 referral bonus for qualified experts.
AfterQuery
VerifiedSecurity Engineer - Cryptanalysis (Remote Contract)
AfterQuery is assembling a research cohort of senior security specialists to test how frontier AI models handle advanced problems in cryptanalysis and reverse engineering. The work centers on evaluation, not production engineering. You will define what a correct or excellent answer looks like for problems you already solve in practice, then judge model output against that bar. The project runs remote and asynchronous, with flexible hours that fit around your current role. Candidates with 6 to 10 years of security experience and a Bachelor's degree, with a Master's preferred, move to the front of the review queue.
AfterQuery
VerifiedInformation Security Analyst Expert
AfterQuery builds the expert evaluation data that frontier AI labs use to measure and improve model judgment. The company seeks contract information security analysts to author and grade the incident response and detection engineering scenarios behind those evaluations. You create realistic security exercises that move from alert triage through remediation, then write reference answers that show the investigative reasoning behind each decision. You also grade model output for technical accuracy and operational soundness, and flag guidance that sounds plausible but would weaken security posture. Work happens remote with no fixed hours, aside from a 10-hour weekly minimum.
Micro1
VerifiedApp Security Expert
micro1 seeks App Security Experts to support a customer's active project centered on real-world application security. Your domain knowledge will directly train next-generation AI systems, helping models learn how to reason about secure and vulnerable code. You will build small application fixtures that embed OWASP LLM risks like Sensitive Information Disclosure and Excessive Agency, then create deterministic tests and hidden answer keys for evaluation. No prior AI experience is needed. The engagement is remote and contractor-based.