Security teams urged to center defense on the flaw profile attackers target most

Attackers are increasingly focusing on a limited range of critical vulnerabilities to run attacks with flaws packaged into exploits within as little as three days. Rapid7’s latest Quarterly Threat Landscape report found the number of newly exploited vulnerabilities in Q3 of 2026 was 43, up 19% year on year. Douglas McKee, director of vulnerability intelligence at Rapid7, said it would be wrong to interpret that 19% as indication of a “slow, steady climb in exploitation,” however.