Fifth of CISOs Take Time Off to Avoid Patch Tuesday

One-in-five cybersecurity leaders has either called in sick or deliberately booked holiday time off to avoid Patch Tuesday, according to new data from Socura. The MDR specialist polled 500 UK CSOs, CISOs and heads of IT security to better understand their attitudes to AI and the once-a-month date where Microsoft, Adobe and other vendors release their latest security updates. While a plurality (41%) revealed that they have worked overtime to manage the patching cycle and over a third (37%) claimed they’ve worked late to deploy patches, a significant 22% said they have tried to swerve the date altogether. Socura laid the blame on a growing number of patches and rising stress levels. Over a quarter (29%) of respondents said they feel “significant anxiety” the night before Patch Tuesday. The same share admitted they become more irritable with colleagues or family during that week. “You expect your accountant to be available for your tax return deadline, and your lawyer for your court date,” argued Socura CEO, Andrew Kays. “It speaks volumes about the unhealthy levels of stress and burnout in our industry that cybersecurity leaders would deliberately avoid the office during their most consequential day of work.” The workload is rising as AI-powered vulnerability research helps vendors to discover software flaws in greater volumes. Microsoft fixed a record 974 CVEs in its September 2026 Patch Tuesday release, beating the previous record of 570 just two months prior. By comparison, just 1130 vulnerabilities were published in the whole of 2025. The data chimes with previous reports on CISO stress levels. In March 2026, a Seemplicity report revealed that 45% of cybersecurity leaders work 11+ extra hours per week – equivalent to an additional day – and 20% work an extra 16+ hours weekly. A further two-fifths (43%) said they’re unable to take time off without creating a huge amount of stress upon their return. “It's vital that security teams are properly resourced on Patch Tuesday, and that cybersecurity workers are properly supported emotionally, technically, and financially,” said Kays. “It's a tough job, and most people do it because they love it. That shouldn't be forgotten or exploited.” AI Can Also Help The good news for CISOs is that AI could also help to make certain aspects of the job less stressful. Two-fifths (40%) of respondents told Socura that the technology automates mundane work, which in turn frees up teams to focus on more strategic tasks. A similar share (37%) claimed that AI is helping them better protect their core corporate infrastructure against active threats.