Zero Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: Is secure by default the future of cybersecurity?

By Vijendra Katiyar, Co-Founder and CRO, CleanStart

The reliability of modern business rests on a digital infrastructure that few organisations build alone. Most depend on open-source libraries, vendor images, and shared components that often carry a long history of flaws. When these cracks are exposed, attackers move fast. In 2021, Log4Shell showed how a single library bug could ripple across thousands of applications. In early 2025, SAP NetWeaver’s Visual Composer (CVE-2025-31324) was exploited in the wild, letting attackers plant webshells and disrupt enterprise systems. Each known vulnerability is a door left ajar, risking compromised banking apps, stalled healthcare systems, or corporate reputations. These high-profile breaches highlight a simple truth, i.e., known flaws are the easiest entry points. The idea of releasing software with zero known vulnerabilities challenges this fragile status quo and introduces a new foundation of trust.

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, or CVEs, are ...