Vulnerability Disclosure Policy

Report a vulnerability

As a provider of security software, services, and research, we take security issues very seriously and recognize the importance of privacy, security, and community outreach. As such, we are committed to addressing and reporting security issues through a coordinated and constructive approach designed to drive the greatest protection for technology users. Whether you’re a user of Rapid7 solutions, a software developer, or simply a security enthusiast, you’re an important part of this process.

Reporting security issues

If you believe you have discovered a vulnerability in a Rapid7 product or have a security incident to report, please fill out this contact form. If you feel the need, please use our PGP public key - KeyID: 959D3EDA - to encrypt your communications with us.

Once we have received a vulnerability report, Rapid7 takes a series of steps to address the issue:

  1. Rapid7 requests the reporter keep any communication regarding the vulnerability confidential.
  2. Rapid7 investigates and verifies the vulnerability.
  3. Rapid7 addresses the vulnerability and releases an update or patch to the software. If for some reason this cannot be done quickly or at all, Rapid7 will provide information on recommended mitigations.
  4. Rapid7 publicly announces the vulnerability in the release notes of the update. Rapid7 may also issue additional public announcements, for example via social media, our blog, and media.
  5. Release notes (and blog posts when issued) include a reference to the person/people who reported the vulnerability, unless the reporter(s) would prefer to stay anonymous.

Rapid7 will endeavor to keep the reporter apprised of every step in this process as it occurs.

We greatly appreciate the efforts of security researchers and discoverers who share information on security issues with us, giving us a chance to improve our products and services, and better protect our customers. Thank you for working with us through the above process.

Coordination is key

When properly notified of legitimate issues, we’ll do our best to acknowledge your emailed report, assign resources to investigate the issue, and fix potential problems as quickly as possible. When we discover vulnerabilities through our own research, we will do our best to coordinate efforts with the vendor's security teams and CERT/CC.

Security issues found by Rapid7 research

Once we have found a vulnerability in another vendor’s products, Rapid7 takes a series of steps to address the issue:

  1. Rapid7 will keep any communication confidential regarding the vulnerability until the completion of the disclosure process.
  2. Rapid7 will attempt to contact the appropriate product vendor by email and telephone.
  3. Rapid7 will provide the vulnerability details to the vendor.
  4. If further coordination is required, Rapid7 will send a notification to CERT/CC 15 days after the first attempt at contacting the vendor.
  5. In keeping with industry standards (such as CERT/CC's, Google's, ZDI's, and many others), Rapid7 will prepare and publish an advisory detailing the vulnerability at least 60 days after initial attempts at disclosure at stage #2 above, barring extenuating circumstances. This advisory will be made available to the general public via Rapid7’s blog and social media. Depending on the details of the findings, there may also be some additional media interest in these findings.

For the latest news, research, and developments from Rapid7 on security, research, and projects visit our blog.