71% of vulnerability exploitation starts within a week of disclosure

Attackers are exploiting newly disclosed vulnerabilities within days, according to Rapid7’s Q3 2026 Quarterly Threat Landscape Report, covered by Help Net Security. Rapid7 tracked 43 newly exploited high- and critical-severity vulnerabilities during the quarter, found an average of three days between public disclosure and exploitation, and said 71% of tracked exploitation began within the first week of disclosure.