In an era where AI is rewriting the rules of innovation, one thing remains stubbornly unchanged: the relentless rise of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs). As organizations race to modernize, many are unknowingly building on a foundation riddled with silent threats.
Did you know that at least one new CVE is discovered every 10 to 20 minutes? That number approximates over 26,200 in a single year. Yet, 2024 saw 40,000+ CVEs. Through the first half of 2025, roughly 24,800 vulnerabilities have been published, about 131 per day and an 18% bump in the year-over-year pace.
That’s the staggering reality of the security landscape.
While patches may arrive swiftly, the threat doesn’t wait. Despite the fix being available, nearly half of all vulnerabilities are exploited within just 190 days of patch release. That alarming number is not because the CVE patches are not released on time, but primarily because affected organizations are not up to speed with the patch. For every day of silent exposure, every unpatched system becomes a ticking time bomb.
The onus of releasing a patch lies with the software, but the eligibility to receive the patch rests with the affected party.
This brutal timeline reveals two truths:
The window between CVE discovery, patching and communication is razor thin.
The speed at which a patch reaches your system can mean the difference between safety and breach.
So yes, you have downloaded a community version of licensed software and you are rejoicing in the momentary benefit of using a ‘free’ tool. But remember, free comes with a cost.
If you are running an unlicensed, unsupported or outdated version of the software, you’re not just exposed but also abandoned. Only good luck can stand between you and a potential security risk.
And luck, as you might know, is a terrible security strategy.
Financial and Reputational Loss
Failing to patch known CVEs can lead to a cascade of serious consequences. Financially, organizations may face direct losses from system downtime, data breaches, or service disruptions. The reputational damage can be even more enduring, as customers and partners may lose trust, leading to churn, negative press and long-term brand erosion.
In addition, regulatory bodies may impose hefty compliance fines for failing to maintain secure systems, especially if sensitive data is compromised. Together, these impacts can significantly undermine business stability and stakeholder confidence. The data is here to speak: the average cloud misconfiguration breach now costs $4.14 million per incident, while it is about $9.44 million for general data breaches. Again, this is an average figure. Multiply this by the scale and depth of your organization, and you have a scary account statement staring at your face.
How Can Enterprises Manage the Risk of CVEs in Their Software?
1. Patch Before the Headline Hits
In simple terms, don’t wait for the CVE to trend. How can you do that? If you use licensed software, you are most likely to get early alerts and patches on a critical basis for testing, even before the patch has been released. Enterprises should mitigate OSS-related CVE risks by using commercial distributions of the tools. OSS software at its best is for evaluation. The cost of a licensed software version is way more optimal than the cost of a breach and reputational loss.
The Enterprise Chef platform offers:
- SLA-backed security incident response
- Timely CVE patching and proactive notifications
- Communication and handholding
This ensures that even if a CVE is discovered, enterprises are not left in the lurch, waiting for community-driven fixes.
2. Implement a Formal Vulnerability Response Plan
Just like luck, hope is also not an effective security strategy. Confirm that you have structured governance. Organizations with product vulnerability response plans outline structured triage, remediation and risk acceptance workflows. Enterprise-grade software providers have strict processes defined, unlike community-based software. These include:
- CVSS/EPSS-based severity scoring
- Security Policy Exceptions for delayed patches
- Executive-level approvals for high-risk releases
This governance helps confirm that unpatched CVEs are tracked, justified and mitigated through compensating controls. Make sure that you choose a tool with these benefits. The cost of mitigating a CVE through licensed support is far less than being stranded in a place of untimely and unverified community support.
For instance, all tools within Progress handle CVEs with a structured and proactive process that includes detection from multiple sources, centralized triage through dashboards and clear ownership by Product and Engineering teams. Critical vulnerabilities are prioritized with defined SLAs and fixes are communicated via standardized templates and a public Security Update Guide. The company is also investing in automation and transparency to continuously improve its vulnerability management practices.
3. Automate Security or Be Outpaced
Invest in tools that take security automation seriously. For example, the Chef Platform enables:
Continuous compliance scanning
Automated drift detection and remediation
Infrastructure-as-code for consistent, repeatable configurations
If your OSS stack can’t do this, you’re exposed. Software that checks your compliance with industry standards (CIS Benchmarks, DISA, etc.) reduces exposure and helps maintain compliance even when patches are delayed.
4. Get Legal Cover, Now!
Having no indemnity could mean full liability. Licensed software gives you legal protection, warranties and license clarity. Otherwise, you’re on your own if something breaks or violates compliance. As a publicly traded company, Progress offers contractual indemnification to enterprise customers using its licensed products. In the context of CVEs, indemnity means:
You’re not alone in managing fallout from a vulnerability
You have a contractual safety net for legal and financial exposure
You gain supply chain assurance, since Progress verifies not just binaries but the entire software bundle
5. Make Sure You Sign Up for SLA-Backed Professional Services
When a vulnerability hits, who picks up the phone immediately? Licensed vendors who offer 24/7 support and dedicated customer success teams for whom your success is at the top of their minds.
While enterprise users sleep soundly with Service Level Agreements (SLA)-backed patching and legal indemnity, OSS users are left refreshing forums, hoping for a fix. In today’s threat landscape, that’s not just risky, it’s reckless.
Progress Chef SLAs are a strategic advantage. With Chef Enterprise, organizations gain access to SLA-backed incident response and security fix commitments that include identification, notification, mitigation and resolution. For CVEs rated Level 9 or higher, Progress even commits to a resolution timeline.
This isn’t just about uptime, it’s about peace of mind. While community-supported versions leave you waiting on goodwill, commercial Chef customers improve their response times as fast as 30 minutes for Severity 1 issues under Premium Support. And it doesn’t stop there. You also get access to certified Chef Customer Architects who not only resolve incidents but also help future-proof your infrastructure with best practices.
In a world where every second of downtime can mean lost revenue or reputational damage, not investing in SLA-backed software could be the costliest decision you didn’t know you were making.
6. Make a Budget to Prevent, Not for Damage Control
Effective finance management is key. A license fee is the most predictable cost that you can get. You cannot say the same for a breach. The cost of a CVE exploit could be catastrophic. Sadly, the remediation hill is an uphill one in what could have been an easily preventable scenario. Regret can only save you so much.
The Enterprise version of Chef software gives its customers stability, predictability and peace of mind while effectively managing their infrastructure. Read this guide to learn more about when you should choose Enterprise Chef over the community version for your infrastructure needs.
Open Source Will Burn You If You Don’t Control It
Open-source infrastructure tools are not “free” when misused; they’re loaded weapons in your environment. Configuration drift, unpatched modules, hidden dependencies and insecure defaults aren’t edge cases; they’re the norm. And attackers know it.
If you’re using OSS for configuration, compliance or infrastructure management and you’re not actively securing it, you’re already exposed. The next breach is just one forgotten patch, one missed commit or one manual override away.
Here’s what you must do immediately:
Scan everything, always. From IaC scripts to transitive dependencies.
Harden your pipelines. No code to production without audit and review.
Detect drift in real-time. Anything less is negligence.
Remove stale components. If it’s unmaintained, it’s a liability.
Automate compliance. Manual checks don’t scale. Automation is survival.
And lastly, invest in a licensed, supported, enterprise-grade infrastructure automation software.
OSS doesn’t care about your SLAs, customers or board reports. That’s your job. Use it like your business depends on it, because it does!