Keep severity prose and metadata aligned

What the check reads

The verify-stage warning inspects active KnownIssue titles and description openings. It recognizes forms such as HIGH, a leading Critical: prefix, and phrases adjacent to severity. When a recognized prose tier differs from the structured tier, it reports a mismatch unless severity_bound contains reviewer and rationale. Incidental expressions such as high-privilege are ignored, and ambiguous prose is left unresolved rather than guessed.

proof audit --check known_issue_severity_prose_consistent

An illustrative case

Illustrative case: investigation narrows a credential finding to a low-impact configuration case. The structured field becomes low, but the title still begins HIGH. Reviewers reading the title may believe the old claim; tools using the field see the new one. Update the narrative and preserve the reason for the regrade in the record.

Resolve the finding

1. Compare the current impact evidence with both the title and severity field.
2. Correct whichever statement is wrong. If different scopes justify the difference, record the reviewer and rationale in severity_bound.
3. Rerun this check and examine the CVSS comparison separately if the issue carries a vector.

What a clear result means

This is a limited language heuristic. A clean result does not mean every sentence is consistent, and a matching pair of grades can still overstate the evidence. The severity decision needs an impact basis; the check only helps keep its visible representations aligned.

Continue with one real issue

Cvss severity consistent · Severity inflation

Bring one finding, its requirement and the current evidence to scope a walkthrough of what your reviewer can establish and what still needs work.