AI-Assisted Exploit Development Time Drops from 125 Days to 12 Hours, Outpacing Scanners
By
Elizabeth Montalbano
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Summary
New research from Cogent Research analyzing 69,159 CVEs reveals that AI-assisted attackers have reduced exploit development time from 125.3 days (January 2025) to just 0.5 days (by April 2026). This dramatic acceleration in exploit creation is outpacing traditional vulnerability scanners, creating significant cybersecurity challenges as threat actors leverage AI to weaponize vulnerabilities far faster than defensive tools can adapt.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledAttackers have reduced the time to develop an exploit for a known vulnerability from 125 days to a mere half a day, thanks to the use of AI-assisted development, leaving vulnerability scanners struggling to keep pace
Cogent Research analyzed 69,159 common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) and found that in January 2025, attackers needed 125.3 days to develop a method for exploiting them
By April 2026, threat actors reduced that time to just 0.5 days by using AI, thus creating significant v
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