Reports

Annual Vulnerability & Exploit Intelligence Report 2024

Key insights from VulnHero’s 2024 report: uncovering critical CVEs, exploit trends, and strategic guidance for defenders navigating today’s threat landscape.

VulnHero Team
May 1, 2024
20 min read
PDF
2024
CVE
Exploit
Threat Intel

Annual Vulnerability & Exploit Intelligence Report 2024

Introduction

The vulnerability and exploitation landscape accelerated dramatically in 2024.

From the proliferation of closed-circuit exploit kits to a sharp rise in unpatched vulnerabilities under active exploitation, security teams faced increasing pressure to detect, prioritize, and respond with precision.

The Annual VulnHero Intelligence Report 2024 delivers exploit-aware, risk-aligned insights — helping organizations move beyond CVSS-based triage and into a model that reflects actual adversary behavior.

Unlike conventional CVE reports, this intelligence series focuses on what’s being exploited in the wild, how fast it’s happening, and what defenders can do proactively.


Highlights & Key Metrics

  • 📈 45,980 CVEs published — a 58% increase from 2023
  • 🛠️ 70%+ of exploited CVEs had no patch available at the time of exploitation
  • 🔒 Exploits concentrated in identity, authentication, and supply chain components
  • 💻 Closed exploit kit usage doubled, while public PoC activity declined — indicating a shift to private tools
  • ⏱️ Median time-to-exploit fell below 24 hours, shrinking response windows
  • 📊 VH Score outperformed CVSS in predictive accuracy:
    • 81% of CVEs with VH Score ≥90 were exploited in the wild
    • Only 4% of high-CVSS but low-VH CVEs saw real-world exploitation

Strategic Takeaways for Defenders

  • Context-aware CVE triage is mandatory — static scoring models no longer suffice
  • Patch visibility is incomplete — defenders can’t rely solely on NVD or vendor feeds
  • Exploit-aware prioritization is essential to stay ahead of attacker behavior
  • The rise of private tooling requires telemetry and enrichment before patch release

How VulnHero Bridges the Gap

Traditional scanners and public feeds struggle to capture fast-evolving exploit chains. VulnHero offers:

  • VH Score: A dynamic risk model combining exploit telemetry + business impact
  • Fix Prediction Engine: Anticipates vendor patches before public disclosure
  • Exploit Kit Intelligence: Tracks activity across closed criminal ecosystems and APT toolchains
  • No-Patch Mitigation Engine: Recommends realistic compensating controls for unpatched threats

These capabilities empower teams to act early, respond faster, and reduce risk intelligently.


Recommended Actions

  • Shift from CVSS-first to exploit-first prioritization with VH Score
  • Address unpatched exploited CVEs with proactive controls
  • Ingest exploit intelligence into your SIEM, SOAR, and vulnerability scanners
  • Build patching SLAs around exploit windows, not just vendor release dates

Key Lessons from 2024

Attackers are faster. Exploits are quieter. Patching alone isn’t enough.

Security programs that relied solely on CVSS and vendor advisories missed critical threats in 2024.
Defenders must adopt an exploit-centric, telemetry-informed approach — one that reflects the true risk landscape, not just database metadata.


Make 2025 the Year of Exploit-Aware Defense

The findings in this report highlight a simple truth:
The gap between CVE disclosure and exploitation is shrinking — and so must our response times.

VulnHero Intelligence gives security teams the edge they need with exploit-aware insights that drive meaningful action — not just noise.

With VulnHero, you can:

Defend what matters. Prioritize what’s real.
VulnHero helps you see what others miss.

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