Swimlane report finds 68% of organizations fail to remediate critical vulnerabilities on time

According to a newly released report from Swimlane, a concerning 68% of organizations say remediating a critical vulnerability takes more than 24 hours. The report, “Under Pressure: Is Vulnerability Management Keeping Up?" reveals that fragmented data from multiple scanners, siloed risk scoring, and poor cross-team collaboration are leaving organizations increasingly exposed to breaches, compliance failures, and costly penalties.

The relentless surge of vulnerabilities is pushing security teams to their limits, forcing them to manage overwhelming volumes of risk with tools and processes that are no longer adequate. To better understand this landscape, Swimlane surveyed 500 cybersecurity decision-makers in the United States and the United Kingdom to uncover how vulnerability management teams are coping with these challenges.

“The growing complexity of vulnerability management is pushing organizations to rethink how they approach organization-wide security, risk, and compliance strategies,” said Michael Lyborg, CISO at Swimlane. “It’s no longer just about patching vulnerabilities—it’s about prioritizing the ones that matter most to your operations. With businesses losing an estimated $47,580 per employee each year due to manual tasks, organizations can no longer afford to operate in the reactive mode of the past.”

Key Takeaways

• Lack of Context Fuels the Race Against Time: 68% of organizations leave critical vulnerabilities unresolved for over 24 hours, with 37% citing a lack of context or accurate information as the top challenge in prioritization. Similarly, 35% report this lack of context hampers their remediation efforts.
• Vulnerability Management is a Web of Complexity: Over half (55%) of organizations still lack a comprehensive system for vulnerability prioritization. While 45% leverage a hybrid approach combining manual and automated processes, many rely on tools like cloud security posture management (71%), multiple endpoint scanners (60%), and web application scanners (59%) for vulnerability detection.
• The Hidden Costs of Manual Effort and Inefficiency: Manual tasks consume significant resources, with 57% of security teams dedicating 25–50% of their time to vulnerability management operations. More than half (55%) spend over five hours weekly consolidating and normalizing vulnerability data, while 51% note the limited utility of scanner results, necessitating additional tools and processes.
• Confidence Shortfall in Regulatory Compliance: Nearly two-thirds (65%) of organizations lack confidence in their vulnerability management programs' ability to meet regulatory audit requirements. Meanwhile, 73% express concern over potential fines tied to inadequate vulnerability management practices.
• Siloed Processes Fuel Bigger Security Risks: A majority (59%) of organizations report that siloed vulnerability management practices are creating inefficiencies and exposing their systems to potential security risks.

“Smarter prioritization and automation are no longer optional—they are essential to reducing vulnerabilities, preventing breaches, and ensuring continuous compliance,” said Cody Cornell, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Swimlane. “By blending intelligent automation with human expertise, vulnerability management teams gain the clarity they need to act decisively. Centralizing data and responding in real-time isn’t a luxury—it’s a business imperative that minimizes risk and frees up time to focus on the next challenge.”

Key Resources

• Download the report: Under Pressure: Is Vulnerability Management Keeping Up?
• Register here for Swimlane’s upcoming webinar “Are You Keeping Up with Vulnerability Management?” on February 26 at 1 PM ET.

Methodology

The survey was conducted among 500 cybersecurity decision-makers at enterprise companies with at least 1,000 employees in the United States and the United Kingdom. The interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research and under the guidance of Swimlane, Inc. in November and December 2024 using an email invitation and an online survey.