Report: 1 in 3 Easily Exploitable Vulnerabilities Found on Cloud Assets

CyCognito recently released new research highlighting critical security vulnerabilities across cloud-hosted assets, revealing that one in three easily exploitable vulnerabilities or misconfigurations are found on cloud assets. As organizations increasingly shift to multi-cloud strategies, the findings underscore significant security gaps that could provide attackers with potential footholds into networks.

Gartner predicts double-digit growth across all cloud segments in 2025, with organizations increasingly adopting multi-cloud strategies. This expansion coincides with rising security concerns, as researchers with Palo Alto Networks found that by the end of 2024, organizations suffered a 388 percent increase in cloud security alerts compared to 2023.

"While cloud computing offers tremendous benefits, we're seeing an alarming increase in serious security issues affecting cloud assets," said Emma Zaballos, Senior Researcher, CyCognito. "Organizations must understand the crucial difference between high-severity vulnerabilities and those that are easily exploitable—both present distinct risks that require targeted security approaches."

For this research, CyCognito analyzed anonymized, aggregated data across nearly five million internet-exposed assets – web applications, servers, domains, and more – that the company monitors, focusing on how vulnerabilities behave "in the wild" rather than just in controlled testing environments.

This research focused on the assets hosted on cloud platforms, rather than the cloud platforms themselves. While assets were aggregated by cloud hosting providers, further research is needed to understand why variance existed between different populations of assets.

Key findings:

  • Significant Vulnerability Variations Across Providers: 38 percent of assets hosted by Google Cloud were vulnerable to at least one security issue or misconfiguration, over 2.5x more than assets hosted by AWS (15 percent), while assets hosted by Azure ranked second with 27 percent.
  • Critical Vulnerabilities Present Across All Environments: Though uncommon, critical vulnerabilities (CVSS 9.0 or higher) were detected on assets hosted by all cloud providers, with assets hosted by Azure showing a slightly higher percentage (0.07 percent) compared to assets hosted by AWS and Google Cloud (0.04 percent). Assets hosted by other cloud providers showed approximately 10 times higher rates of critical vulnerabilities.
  • Easily Exploitable Vulnerabilities Most Common on Alternative Clouds: Over 13 percent of assets hosted on other clouds and 10 percent on other hosting providers had easily exploitable vulnerabilities, compared to 5 percent hosted on Google Cloud and just 2 percent on AWS and Azure.
  • Combined Risk Factors: Assets with both critical and easily exploitable issues were found across all providers, with AWS showing the lowest rate (0.02 percent) while alternative cloud and hosting providers showed rates ten times higher.
  • The research emphasizes the importance of comprehensive security testing beyond development environments. "Security teams must focus on testing applications after they're deployed, not just during development," added Zaballos. "Dynamic application security testing is crucial as it actively tests live assets, uncovering application vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that static tools miss."

The research comes as CyCognito announced a new partnership with Wiz to enhance protection of cloud environments. CyCognito enriches Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) coverage by identifying externally exposed cloud assets and identifying vulnerabilities and misconfigurations using more than 80,000 active and passive tests. By taking an outside-in attacker’s perspective, CyCognito fills visibility gaps across sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud assets and enables security teams to focus on the most

critical vulnerabilities.

For more information on the research, please see the blog post.

Featured

  • Allegion, Comfort Technologies Implement Mobile Credentials at the Artisan Apartment Homes in Florida

    Artisan Apartment Homes, a luxury apartment complex in Dunedin, Florida, recently transitioned from mechanical keys to electronic locks and centralized system software with support from Allegion US, a leading provider of security solutions, technology and services, and Florida-based Comfort Technologies, which specializes in deploying multifamily access control, IoT devices and software management solutions. Read Now

  • Mall of America Deploys AI-Powered Analytics to Enhance Parking Intelligence

    Mall of America®, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America, announced an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Axis Communications to deploy cutting-edge car-counting video analytics across more than a dozen locations. With this expansion, Mall of America (MOA) has boosted operational efficiency, improved safety and security, and enabled more informed decision-making around employee scheduling and streamlining transportation for large events. Read Now

  • Security Industry Association Launches New “askSIA” AI Tool

    The Security Industry Association (SIA) has unveiled a brand-new SIA member benefit – askSIA, a conversational AI agent designed to help users get the most out of their SIA membership, easily access SIA resources and find the latest information on SIA’s training and courses, reports and publications, events, certification offerings and more. SIA members can easily find askSIA by visiting the SIA homepage or looking for the askSIA icon in the top left of webpages. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Industry Embraces Mobile Access, Biometrics and AI

    A combination of evolving workplace dynamics, technology innovation and new user expectations is changing how people enter and interact with physical spaces. Access control is at the heart of these changes. Combined with biometrics and AI, mobile access control has become increasingly crucial for deploying entry solutions that are seamless, secure and adaptive to user needs. Read Now

  • Sustainable Video Solution Delivered for Landmark City of London Office Development

    An advanced, end-to-end video solution from IDIS, with a focus on reducing waste and costs, has helped a major office development in the City of London align its security with sustainability objectives. Read Now

New Products

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation.

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure.

  • Mobile Safe Shield

    Mobile Safe Shield

    SafeWood Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of patented bullet resistant products, is excited to announce the launch of the Mobile Safe Shield. The Mobile Safe Shield is a moveable bullet resistant shield that provides protection in the event of an assailant and supplies cover in the event of an active shooter. With a heavy-duty steel frame, quality castor wheels, and bullet resistant core, the Mobile Safe Shield is a perfect addition to any guard station, security desks, courthouses, police stations, schools, office spaces and more. The Mobile Safe Shield is incredibly customizable. Bullet resistant materials are available in UL 752 Levels 1 through 8 and include glass, white board, tack board, veneer, and plastic laminate. Flexibility in bullet resistant materials allows for the Mobile Safe Shield to blend more with current interior décor for a seamless design aesthetic. Optional custom paint colors are also available for the steel frame.