In cybersecurity, vulnerabilities are typically categorized according to their severity to help prioritize remediation efforts. Though the specifics can vary between different vulnerability rating systems, only the most severe vulnerabilities are labeled as critical.
Critical vulnerabilities usually have a high likelihood of being exploited and the potential to allow an attacker to cause extensive damage or fully compromise the affected system. They demand immediate attention and come attached with very short SLAs.
High-priority vulnerabilities are still serious security weaknesses but are generally considered somewhat less urgent compared to critical vulnerabilities. Perhaps the potential damage is slightly less, or exploiting the vulnerability might require more complex or specific conditions. While still near the top of the prioritization list, these should usually be addressed after all critical vulnerabilities have been handled.