Patch management forms the base of routine ITOps and is undoubtedly the first line of defense from cyber threats. Even after two decades of Patch Tuesday cycles, the patch management process still has its caveats. The increasingly complex nature of vulnerabilities, coupled with the fast-paced exploitation and ever-changing threat landscape, makes it challenging and time-consuming.
This article outlines the top 10 patch management challenges that persist, affecting the overall efficiency of the process and posing a threat to network security. Before diving into that, let us cover the basics.
Patch management plays a foundational role in maintaining an organization’s security posture and operational stability. It ensures that known vulnerabilities are addressed promptly, reducing the risk of cyberattacks and data breaches.
Beyond security, timely patching supports regulatory compliance, improves system performance, and minimizes operational disruptions. In an environment where threat actors move quickly and systems grow increasingly complex, effective patch management is not optional—it’s essential.
Here are five compelling reasons to never let your guard down when it comes to patching:
Unpatched systems are low-hanging fruit for cybercriminals. Regular patching ensures that known vulnerabilities are addressed, reducing the attack surface and preventing exploitation by malware, ransomware, or advanced persistent threats.
Standards like ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and NIS2 mandate timely patching of known vulnerabilities. Failing to comply can result in hefty fines, reputational damage, and failed audits.
Beyond security, patches often include performance improvements, bug fixes, and feature enhancements that help maintain system health and user productivity.
In distributed environments, unpatched devices—especially off-network endpoints—become blind spots. A consistent patch management strategy ensures all endpoints, regardless of location, are secured.
By proactively managing patches, organizations can avoid reactive firefighting after a breach or outage. Scheduled patching with proper testing minimizes the risk of business disruptions.
Cloud-first development has shrunk vendor release cycles from quarterly to weekly or even daily drops. As a result, IT teams face a near-continuous stream of security and feature fixes that can overwhelm traditional, monthly "maintenance window" playbooks.
On top of that, the exponential rise in vulnerabilities poses a different threat. The first half of 2025 witnessed over 20,000 vulnerabilities being discovered. Hence, every day a vulnerability remains unpatched, it compounds the risk.
You can't secure what you can't see. Many organizations still lack a dependable inventory of endpoints, virtual machines, and third-party applications. As a consequence, incomplete deployment reports leave administrators guessing which devices remain exposed after a patch run, thus keeping exploit paths open for attackers.
Post-pandemic work patterns scattered endpoints across home networks and public Wi-Fi. The rise of fully remote employees now forces IT teams to discover, test, and deploy patches over unreliable consumer links. Adding to it, VPN saturation and bandwidth constraints cap off the possibility of securely patching the remote endpoints, if at all possible.
Security talent deficits are no longer headline news; they are day-to-day operational hurdles. Persistent IT staff shortages leave existing teams juggling and competing priorities, meaning fewer hands leading to longer patch backlogs and higher burnout. The staffing gap slows down urgent remediation work, thus stretching the mean time-to-patch (MTTP) well beyond best-practice targets.
Critical systems, such as ERP, OT/ICS, and 24/7 production lines, often permit only tiny windows for downtime. As a result, such limited maintenance windows and constrained WAN links make large update payloads infeasible during business hours. When the patching windows close before the deployment or installation of the patches are completed, admins must roll back changes to prevent risking system instability, thereby delaying security fixes further.
Rushed deployments can break line-of-business applications or kernel-mode drivers. In fact, compatibility issues form one of the most common "headaches" in patching, especially in heterogeneous environments. Testing every patch against every possible software stack is resource-intensive, leading many teams to delay or skip low-priority updates.
Operating-system updates dominate Patch Tuesday headlines, but third-party applications now account for the majority of exploited CVEs. Diverse installers, inconsistent silent-install flags, and unknown dependency trees complicate the standardization process.
The Adaptiva 2025 State of Patch Management report concludes that most enterprises still rely on siloed, manual approval workflows that slow deployment and obscure ownership. The downside risk of such obsolete methods like manual tracking leads to spreadsheet sprawl, missed exceptions, and audit failures - yet organizations hesitate to automate because of the fear of "set-and-pray" scenarios.
Whether it's ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, or the EU's NIS2 directive, proof of timely patching is now an audit staple. Producing evidence means correlating scan data, change-control tickets, and deployment logs across multiple tools—work that often falls to already-overloaded admins.
Manufacturing floors, healthcare, and critical infrastructure still run Windows 7, Server 2008, or proprietary Operational Technology (OT) firmware. Such legacy assets create permanent exceptions that weaken organisation-wide security posture and demand compensating controls, adding to the operational burden.
Despite advancements in patch management software and their automation capabilities, IT teams continue to face recurring issues in maintaining a secure and up-to-date environment.
Here are some of the reasons why the above-mentioned patch management challenges still exist in organizations:
Modern IT ecosystems rely on a wide variety of operating systems, applications, and third-party tools - all of which release frequent updates. This overwhelming patch volume makes it hard for IT teams to track, prioritize, and deploy patches promptly.
Many organizations lack a centralized view of all endpoints, devices, and software in use. Without complete asset visibility, it’s challenging to identify which systems are vulnerable or require urgent patching - leading to dangerous blind spots.
The shift to remote and hybrid work has introduced unpredictable device locations, varying network conditions, and unmanaged endpoints. Traditional patching strategies often fail to reliably reach these decentralized assets.
Understaffed IT and security teams are stretched thin across multiple responsibilities. As a result, patching often becomes a reactive rather than proactive process, increasing exposure to known vulnerabilities.
Patches can sometimes disrupt critical applications or workflows. Fearing downtime or instability, IT teams delay patch deployment, especially in environments without safe rollback mechanisms or testing protocols.
Patch management isn't a single task—it's a continuous, multi-disciplinary practice spanning asset discovery, vulnerability assessment, change control, and compliance. The core challenges that we discussed are unlikely to disappear, but tooling and process maturity can shift the burden away from overstressed admins.
By embracing advanced patch management tools such as ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus that offer automation capabilities coupled with holistic visibility, admins can streamline inventory accuracy and align maintenance windows with business realities. Leveraging such tools, in turn, would help IT teams shrink exposure windows and move one step closer to "patch Tuesday, sleep Wednesday."
ManageEngine Patch Manager Plus is a trusted patch management solution that eliminates common patching hurdles faced by IT teams and offers multiple functionalities for patching automation.
With a unified console and patching support for Windows, macOS, Linux, and over 1100 third-party applications, it reduces the manual effort involved in detecting, testing, and deploying patches across a distributed enterprise.
This solution provides real-time visibility into all assets, enabling IT teams to detect outdated software, missing patches, and vulnerable systems regardless of their geographical location.
Furthermore, Patch Manager Plus streamlines the entire patch management process through policy-based automation, enabling IT admins to prioritize critical patches, schedule deployments during maintenance windows, and perform post-deployment audits—all from a centralized dashboard.
It also simplifies third-party application patching, a commonly overlooked attack surface, by supporting silent installations for popular apps like Zoom, Chrome, Adobe, and more. Whether you're facing bandwidth limitations, resource constraints, or legacy infrastructure issues, Patch Manager Plus delivers the scalability, flexibility, and control required to maintain a secure, well-patched IT environment - without overwhelming your team.
Try out a fully functional, 30-day free trial of the solution to gain a better understanding of its features.
Patch management challenges include handling a high volume of patch releases, limited visibility into endpoints, remote and hybrid workforces, staffing shortages, compatibility risks, and difficulty patching third-party or legacy systems. These factors often lead to delays, missed patches, and compliance gaps - leaving systems vulnerable to exploitation.
Patch deployments fail due to various reasons, including incompatible software versions, inadequate pre-deployment testing, limited bandwidth, endpoint unavailability, or configuration mismatches. Without automation and rollback planning, a failed patch can disrupt services or go unnoticed - posing significant security and operational risks.
Some of the ways to prioritize patch deployment are:
Patch delays often stem from limited IT resources, narrow maintenance windows, fear of application breakage, and complex approval workflows. Remote endpoints and legacy systems further complicate timely patching. Inconsistent processes and manual tracking also slow down patch cycles.
Automation streamlines patch discovery, prioritization, testing, and deployment - reducing manual effort and human error. It enables consistent patching across remote and on-prem systems, enforces compliance policies, and speeds up response to critical vulnerabilities. Automation also simplifies reporting for audits and regulatory needs.
Neglecting patch management leaves systems exposed to ransomware, data breaches, compliance violations, and operational downtime. Unpatched vulnerabilities are among the top attack vectors for cybercriminals. Poor practices also increase Mean Time to Patch (MTTP), affecting security posture and audit readiness.
Some of the best ways to patch third-party applications reliably are:
