Patch Development Time for Operating Systems

Of the five operating systems tracked in the first six months of 2007, Microsoft had the shortest average patch development time at 18 days, based on a sample set of 38 patched vulnerabilities. Of the 38 vulnerabilities, two affected third-party applications. This is lower than the average patch development time of 23 days in the second half of 2006 based on a sample set of 50 vulnerabilities, seven of which affected third-party applications.

Source: Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, Vol. XII