A Breach Waiting to Happen
In 2025, the cybersecurity landscape is more hostile than ever - and open source software (OSS) has become a frontline battleground. While modern applications are built on a foundation of shared code and community-driven libraries, the risks of unmanaged open source components are escalating rapidly. The data is sobering:
- 20% of breaches involved the exploitation of known vulnerabilities, a 34% year-over-year increase, according to the Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR).
- Google Mandiant’s M-Trends 2025 reports exploits as the most common initial infection vector, responsible for 33% of attacks in 2024.
- The Datadog State of DevSecOps 2025 found that 44% of Java applications in production environments contained known-exploited vulnerabilities.
These numbers speak for themselves: ignoring open source security isn’t a calculated risk - it’s negligence.
"We can’t afford a breach, but maintaining security hygiene is hard."
Unfortunately, this is the reality for many organizations. But it doesn’t change the fact that failing to manage open source risks is often what opens the door to attackers.
Why Open Source Vulnerabilities Are a Common Attack Vector
Open source is not the problem. The problem is the lack of control and visibility over how it’s used:
- Over 90% of modern applications incorporate open source components.
- Most exploited vulnerabilities aren’t zero-days - they’re known, sometimes years old.
- Attackers automate the scanning of vulnerable packages to gain access quickly and at scale.
Once a flaw is disclosed, exploitation is often only hours away. If your systems aren't ready, you’re the next target.
Real-World Examples: Lessons in Ignoring the Obvious
Log4Shell (CVE-2021-44228)
The notorious Log4Shell vulnerability in Apache Log4j marked one of the most widespread security crises in recent memory. The flaw, which allowed remote code execution (RCE), resulted in mass exploitation across industries. Both startups and Fortune 500 companies were impacted, largely because they lacked visibility into their dependencies and responded too slowly. It became the ultimate case study in why rapid remediation is non-negotiable.
Next.js Middleware Bypass (CVE-2025-29927)
A recent critical vulnerability in Next.js affects versions 11.1.4 through 15.2.2, allowing attackers to bypass middleware security controls via a manipulated x-middleware-subrequest header. The result? Authorization bypass and security control circumvention - a serious threat in web apps with layered permissions. This is a fresh reminder that even well-maintained, popular frameworks are vulnerable. The vulnerability was not included yet in CISA KEV, but there is evidence for exploitation attempts.
Spring4Shell (CVE-2022-22965)
An RCE vulnerability in the Spring Framework, dubbed Spring4Shell, was swiftly targeted after its disclosure in 2022. Like Log4Shell, this vulnerability reminded developers that even foundational frameworks are not immune. The industry response was again marred by delays and patching hesitancy - despite the clear urgency.
Laravel RCE (CVE-2018-15133)
A five-year-old flaw in Laravel's PHP framework re-emerged in attacks long after it was disclosed. Exploited in the wild in 2023 and beyond, CVE-2018-15133 underscores a critical truth: unpatched vulnerabilities don’t disappear. They accumulate - waiting to be used.
MLflow RCE (CVE-2023-6018)
This lesser-known RCE vulnerability in the MLflow machine learning lifecycle platform was assigned a 99th percentile EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score - indicating a very high chance of imminent exploitation. Though concrete breach details remain limited, the threat level alone signaled critical action was needed - especially in enterprise AI environments.
jQuery XSS (CVE-2020-11023)
This five-year-old jQuery vulnerability was recently added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog after new evidence showed active exploitation. One threat actor was reportedly using it in phishing kits that mimicked legitimate portals, exploiting outdated jQuery libraries in embedded devices and web dashboards. The lesson? Age doesn’t equal safety.
Case Study: When a "Small" Vulnerability Became a Breach
The Verizon DBIR 2024 describes a ransomware attack that stemmed from a known vulnerability in an open source library. The component had a patch available, but it was never applied. This oversight - due to a lack of prioritization - gave attackers an easy entry point, eventually leading to operational shutdowns and significant financial loss.
Why These Breaches Were Possible
Across all these incidents, common root causes emerge:
- Failure to patch or upgrade known vulnerable components.
- Lack of visibility into transitive dependencies - vulnerabilities hiding deep in the dependency tree.
- Delayed prioritization based on assumptions that the risk was a false positive.
- Broken remediation workflows - issues are discovered, but never acted upon.
How CISA’s KEV List Proves the Point
The CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog is a wake-up call for organizations. It lists vulnerabilities with confirmed exploitation in the wild - many of them years old.
jQuery, Laravel, Log4j, Apache Struts - these aren’t edge cases. They’re mainstream, widely-used software packages that went unpatched in real-world systems until it was too late.
Lessons from Breach Reports
Let’s not ignore the big picture:
- Old, known vulnerabilities are still the leading cause of breaches.
- Automation in detection and patching is lacking in most organizations.
The cost of a data breach continues to rise, reaching $4.45 million on average according to the IBM 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report.
Conclusion: Ignoring Open Source Security Is Like Leaving the Front Door Open
"Hope is not a strategy" - and when it comes to open source security, wishful thinking won’t stop an attacker. Organizations can no longer afford to treat open source risk as an afterthought. With attackers leveraging automation to find and exploit known vulnerabilities faster than ever, the only sustainable response is automation on the defense side too. Monitoring, patching, and securing open source dependencies must become continuous, not reactive, processes.
Security hygiene isn’t about perfection - it’s about momentum. Start small, automate what you can, and iterate. Every unpatched vulnerability is a potential entry point. Every day delayed is a gift to attackers.
The cost of ignoring open source security is no longer theoretical - it’s showing up in breach reports, balance sheets, and brand damage. The time to act was yesterday. The next best time is now.
