AI is speeding up bug hunting, security flaws in tech products expected to double by 2026

AI is making it much faster to find security bugs in software. The US National Vulnerability Database has already recorded 45,207 flaws this year, close to last year's total. By 2026, the number of security holes in popular tech products is expected to double from 2025.

Big tech companies are reporting record numbers. Oracle fixed 1,449 bugs in July, the most in 49 years. Microsoft disclosed 642 flaws, nearly five times more than last year. Google found and fixed 433 Chrome bugs, compared to just 11 a year ago. All thanks to better AI models and more investment.

More bugs don't mean more attacks yet. The US government's list of known exploited flaws shows no big jump in actual attacks. But hackers are getting faster at turning bugs into weapons. The average time to create attack code dropped from 72 hours last year to just 24 hours now.