ZScaler Threatlabz VPN Risk Report 2025

Keypoints

• Annual cybersecurity reports typically begin with an executive summary outlining key themes and threats, followed by detailed findings including statistics, trends, case studies, and recommendations focused on evolving security challenges.
• The 2025 Zscaler ThreatLabz VPN Risk Report focuses on VPN obsolescence, escalating cyberattacks exploiting VPN vulnerabilities, and the transition towards zero trust architectures to improve security and user experience.
• Key statistics include 65% of enterprises planning to replace VPNs within a year, 56% experiencing breaches through VPN vulnerabilities, and 92% concerned about ransomware linked to unpatched VPNs.
• Notable trends indicate increasing AI-driven automated assaults on VPNs, persistent high-severity vulnerabilities such as remote code execution (RCE), rising privilege escalation and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, and exploitation of web-based management interfaces.
• The report emphasizes significant risks from lateral movement enabled by VPNs, with 71% of respondents concerned about attackers’ unfettered access post-compromise, prompting a shift to Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) to reduce the attack surface.
• Recurring themes include user frustration over VPN performance issues (slow speeds, complex authentication), challenges in implementing segmentation, and rising cybersecurity risks from third-party VPN access in mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
• The analysis of 411 VPN CVEs from 2020-2025 highlights a growing number of critical and high-severity vulnerabilities, with remote code execution and privilege escalation as predominant threat types requiring prioritization in patching and defense strategies.
• Legacy tools like firewalls, WAFs, NAC, and VPNs are increasingly viewed as inadequate, pushing enterprises to adopt zero trust architectures that enforce identity-driven, least-privileged access and continuous verification.
• Real-world incidents such as the January 2025 Pulse Secure VPN zero-day exploit and the 2023 MGM Resorts ransomware attack illustrate the damaging consequences of VPN vulnerabilities and inadequate segmentation.
• The report concludes with actionable guidance urging organizations to transition from implicit trust VPN models to cloud-delivered zero trust solutions that enhance security posture, reduce lateral attack risk, and improve user experience in increasingly hybrid and AI-threatened environments.