A Zero-Day vulnerability is a security flaw that is unknown to the software vendor and therefore has no patch available at the time it is discovered or exploited.
The term refers to the fact that organisations have “zero days” to protect themselves before it can be used maliciously.
Because Zero-Day attacks occur before official fixes are available, making them especially difficult to detect and mitigate.
Cybercriminals can exploit these vulnerabilities to gain access to systems, steal information, or disrupt critical operations without being detected by traditional security mechanisms.
Protection against Zero-Day threats does not rely solely on patching, but on a proactive approach. Organisations use cyber intelligence techniques, behavioural analysis, advanced monitoring, network segmentation, and models such as Zero Trust to limit the impact.
In addition, early detection through SOC, SIEM, or XDR is key to containing these threats before they spread.