In-Depth Research
2026 State of Application Security Report
When Development Velocity Outpaces Security
One clear picture of application risk.
Built from more than 1,000 production organizations across source code, CI/CD, infrastructure as code, containers, and cloud runtime, the report exposes the most prevalent and impactful AppSec risks facing organizations today.
run applications with critical vulnerabilities in production
leave high or critical container vulnerabilities unpatched for more than 90 days
expose valid secrets in source code
have leaked AI or machine learning credentials
run known malicious packages in production
deploy unencrypted storage through infrastructure as code
Visibility Is Not the Problem. Prioritization Is.
Security teams are not lacking findings. They are overwhelmed by them.
Fragmented tools generate thousands of alerts without showing which risks are reachable in production. As a result, vulnerability backlogs grow, remediation slows, and critical exposures remain open for months.
This report shows why traditional AppSec approaches are failing and what high-performing teams do differently.
Key Trends Defining Application Security in 2026
AI Is Expanding the Attack Surface
AI credentials are routinely exposed in code and pipelines, granting access to proprietary models, sensitive data, and usage-based services.
43%
of organizations have exposed AI or machine learning credentials
Detection Without Context Is Failing
Organizations find vulnerabilities early but lack the runtime insight needed to prioritize and remediate what matters.
77%
retain high or critical container vulnerabilities for more than 90 days
The Software Supply Chain Is the Primary Attack Path
Malicious and vulnerable dependencies continue to run in production years after disclosure, creating inherited risk across services.
78%
of organizations run applications with critical vulnerable dependencies
50%
of organizations still contain Log4Shell-affected dependencies
Infrastructure as Code Is Scaling Misconfiguration
Insecure templates are replicated automatically across environments, embedding encryption, logging, and IAM gaps at scale.
75%
of organizations deploy infrastructure using IaC
80%
lack logging or monitoring in IaC-managed environments
A Message from Orca Security CEO Gil Geron
Application security has fundamentally changed, but many programs still operate as if it hasn’t. Software is built on open-source dependencies, automated pipelines, and infrastructure as code, while AI is increasing both scale and risk. This report helps organizations understand where traditional approaches fall short and how to focus on the changes that materially reduce risk.”
Gil Geron
CEO and Co-Founder of Orca Security
Explore the full 2026 State of AppSec Report
Based on aggregated, anonymized telemetry collected between Q3 2025 and Q1 2026, this report provides a comprehensive analysis of real-world application risks.
Discover the most urgent application security trends and challenges, including:
- AI credential exposure and model access risk
- Software supply chain threats and malicious dependencies
- Secrets sprawl across code, CI/CD, and runtime
- Critical vulnerabilities that persist in production
- Infrastructure as code misconfigurations at scale
- Container security gaps and slow remediation
- Repository and branch protection weaknesses
- Key recommendations to prioritize and reduce real production risk