Chasing the Clock: How Fast Are Vulnerabilities Fixed in the Maven Ecosystem?

TL;DR

This paper addresses vulnerability remediation times in the Maven ecosystem, examining how CVE severity, library popularity, and update frequency influence fix times. Using Goblin's scalable dependency graph, the authors analyze over 14 million versions across 658,078 libraries to identify 125,816 vulnerable versions in 1,411 libraries and compute fix times and existence durations. Results show that critical CVEs are fixed faster than less severe ones, popularity weakly increases fix times, and more frequent releases align with quicker remediation, highlighting the role of active maintenance in reducing exposure. The work delivers a large, reproducible benchmark for vulnerability management in Maven and suggests practical guidance for maintenance strategies and dependency governance.

Abstract

This study investigates the software vulnerability resolution time in the Maven ecosystem, focusing on the influence of CVE severity, library popularity as measured by the number of dependents, and version release frequency. The results suggest that critical vulnerabilities are addressed slightly faster compared to lower-severity ones. Library popularity shows a positive impact on resolution times, while frequent version updates are associated with faster vulnerability fixes. These statistically significant findings are based on a thorough evaluation of over 14 million versions from 658,078 libraries using the dependency graph database of Goblin framework. These results emphasize the need for proactive maintenance strategies to improve vulnerability management in open-source ecosystems.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: Procedural steps of our study
• Figure 2: Relationship between library popularity and vulnerability fix time
• Figure 3: Popularity and its effect on fix time (popularity scale 1-5)
• Figure 4: Relationship between release speed and vulnerability fix time