VulnCheck Report Reveals Only 1% of CVEs Exploited in Wild Despite Surge in Disclosures
Event summary
- VulnCheck released its 2026 Exploit Intelligence Report, analyzing real-world exploitation trends and attacker behavior.
- Only 1% of disclosed vulnerabilities were confirmed to be exploited in the wild in 2025.
- The report identified a list of 50 most routinely targeted vulnerabilities from 2025.
- AI-generated exploit code contributed to a 16.5% year-over-year increase in same-year exploit coverage.
The big picture
VulnCheck's report highlights a critical disconnect between the volume of vulnerability disclosures and actual exploitation, underscoring the need for more targeted security measures. The surge in AI-generated exploit code is complicating efforts to distinguish real threats from noise, while geopolitical factors continue to shape attacker behavior. This analysis provides a strategic advantage for organizations looking to prioritize remediation based on operational risk rather than raw disclosure volume.
What we're watching
- Exploitation Concentration
- How the concentration of exploitation in a small number of vulnerabilities will impact security prioritization.
- AI-Generated Exploits
- Whether the increase in AI-generated exploit code will continue to obscure real operational risks.
- Geopolitical Tensions
- The pace at which geopolitical tensions influence state-sponsored exploit attributions and activity.
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