Executive Summary 

Cybersecurity risk management has traditionally focused on mitigating software vulnerabilities—flaws that can be directly exploited by attackers. However, an often-overlooked reality is that system outages and disruptions themselves create vulnerabilities, even when they stem from non-security software defects. IT teams have limited control over vendor defects, making proactive tracking essential. Any risk mitigation strategy that addresses cybersecurity vulnerabilities must account for both security flaws and operational defects that can lead to outages. System failures weaken security postures, introduce compliance risks, and create opportunities for attackers to exploit confusion and downtime.  

This post offers a balanced view of these often-over-looked risks from a cybersecurity perspective, offers a concise set of requirements to effectively and appropriately meet those requirements and an overview of how BugZero helps organizations bridge this gap with both a free offering and a scalable, automated enterprise service.  

Cybersecurity risk management has long been synonymous with mitigating software vulnerability risk—flaws that can be directly exploited by attackers to gain unauthorized access, execute malicious code, or compromise data. However, an often-overlooked and under-appreciated reality is that system outages and disruptions themselves create vulnerabilities, even when they are not caused by a security-related defect. 

This means that non-security software defects—bugs that don’t create an exploitable attack vector but can trigger an outage—must still be accounted for in cybersecurity risk management. Any time organizations assess and mitigate cybersecurity vulnerabilities, they need to address both: 

• Software vulnerabilities (flaws that can be directly exploited by attackers). 

• Non-security software defects (bugs that lead to system disruptions, creating secondary vulnerabilities). 

The challenge is growing. Organizations are becoming increasingly dependent on third-party software and managed services deeply embedded in hybrid infrastructure. IT teams have limited visibility and control over third-party defects, making proactive tracking essential.  

Operational Resilience is a material risk category on its own. Even without direct security implications, system outages wreak havoc on reputation, revenue, and compliance obligations.  

This article does not take on this broader topic. It focuses narrowly on the cybersecurity considerations stemming from non-security (operational) flaws in third-party software.  

Modern IT ecosystems are built on an expanding mix of third-party SaaS, embedded software, cloud services, and outsourced infrastructure. This complexity means that: 

• More third-party code runs in critical systems than ever before. 

• IT has no direct control over identifying or remediating vendor operational bugs. 

• Traditional security tools focus only on direct vulnerabilities, ignoring stability risks. 

Cybersecurity risk management frameworks focus on patching security vulnerabilities to prevent direct exploits.  Many practitioners (and the databases and feeds they rely upon) overlook non-security software defects, even when those defects have the potential to result in business-critical outages. 

This gap creates hidden operational risks that are not classified as cybersecurity vulnerabilities but can still create a vulnerable state when a system fails. 

System outages, whether caused by a software defect, human error, or infrastructure failure, put an organization at risk. Even if the outage itself is not security-related, the resulting chaos and operational instability create new opportunities for bad actors. 

• Cybercriminals actively watch for unplanned outages to exploit organizations while they are in recovery mode 

• Incident response teams are under pressure, making mistakes more likely 

• Weakened security posture—temporary fixes often bypass access controls, disable MFA, or override key security policies 

• Increased social engineering risks—employees and IT teams in crisis mode are more susceptible to phishing and deception 

• Failure to patch properly—organizations often struggle to apply fixes consistently when facing vendor dependencies or complex hybrid architectures 

Simply put: An outage is not just an operational incident—it is a security event. 

As reliance on third-party software and managed services grows, so does regulatory scrutiny. Regulations that once focused on security vulnerabilities now require operational resilience as well. 

• DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act, EU) – Requires financial institutions to ensure IT resilience, including vendor software risks 

• NIST Cybersecurity Framework (US) – Expands focus to include operational disruptions as cybersecurity risks 

• UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) & PRA (Prudential Regulation Authority) – Mandate resilience requirements for IT systems, including vendor failures 

• GDPR & Data Protection Regulations – Require uptime and data integrity protections, not just security controls 

• Lack of visibility into vendor software defects undermines risk assessments 

• Inadequate resilience measures lead to non-compliance penalties 

• Failure to maintain uptime and data integrity results in audit failures and legal exposure 

Organizations that ignore non-security software defects risk both cybersecurity threats and regulatory penalties. 

Organizations cannot continue treating operational software defects as a purely IT Service Management problem—they are also a cybersecurity risk. Challenges with Traditional IT Monitoring Approaches 

• Security tools only track known vulnerabilities, missing operational defects that cause downtime 

• ITSM platforms lack centralized visibility into vendor software risks  Security & IT teams work in silos, failing to connect stability risks to cybersecurity 

Key Elements of a Modern Third-party Defect Tracking System 

• Continuous monitoring of third-party software defects (beyond just security vulnerabilities) 

• Integration with ITSM tools like ServiceNow for coordinated response 

• Automated risk assessments to prioritize defects before they cause disruptions 

• Security teams must recognize operational software defects as security risks 

• ITSM teams must collaborate with security to mitigate system failure risks proactively 

• Risk management must track and mitigate vendor software issues holistically 

BugZero’s Free Operational Defect Database (ODD)

• Publicly available database tracking known third-party operational bugs 

• Helps organizations understand vendor software risks before they trigger failures 

BugZero Enterprise 

• Automated tracking & prioritization of software defects 

• Seamless integration with ServiceNow, ensuring defects are addressed within existing workflows 

• Proactive risk assessment, reducing downtime and improving security posture 

• System outages are cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Even when the root cause is a non-security defect, an outage creates new security risks 

• The overlap between operational resilience and security is growing. Organizations that fail to track operational defects put themselves at unnecessary risk 

• Cybersecurity risk management must evolve to include non-security software defects that threaten system availability 

• BugZero provides a free Operational Defect Database (ODD) for tracking third-party software risks, along with an enterprise-grade ServiceNow integration for advanced third-party operational bug tracking 

IT and security leaders must take a proactive approach to mitigating third-party software risks. Explore how BugZero can help your organization strengthen its operational resilience and cybersecurity posture today.