AI has led to a zero-day bug discovery crisis, and it's getting worse

AI tools are driving a surge in zero-day and high-severity vulnerability reports across tech companies and open-source projects.

The Zero Day Initiative says submissions are up 490% year over year, with some reports coming from Anthropic’s Claude Mythos and other AI-assisted workflows.

The flood is overwhelming security teams, slowing triage and disclosure, and making bug bounty programs harder to manage.

Some programs, including the Internet Bug Bounty Program and cURL’s bounty, have reduced or paused intake to cope with the volume.