Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) announced a collaboration with IBM and Red Hat to help organizations protect private applications during the period between vulnerability disclosure and patch deployment, according to a company press release dated Oct. 5, 2026.

The collaboration combines Zscaler's Autonomous Application Shield, delivered through its Zero Trust Exchange platform, with Lightwell — a product from IBM and Red Hat — to provide application-specific protection alongside validated software remediation.

According to Mandiant's M-Trends 2026 report cited in the release, the mean time to exploit a vulnerability has fallen below zero, meaning vulnerabilities are increasingly exploited before a public patch exists.

The integrated offering addresses four areas: exposure discovery, application-specific preemptive protection, machine-speed response, and validated source-level remediation. Zscaler's App Connectors continuously assess each private application's vulnerabilities, while Lightwell provides tested fixes for affected open source software.

"As attackers weaponize newly disclosed vulnerabilities faster than enterprises can respond, organizations need a way to protect private applications immediately while fixes are being prepared and deployed," said Joby Menon, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Zscaler.

"AI is shrinking the window between vulnerability discovery and vulnerability exploitation. A window that was months or weeks is now hours and minutes," said Gunnar Hellekson, vice president and general manager of Lightwell at Red Hat.

Zscaler's Autonomous Application Shield is currently available through an Early Access Program. The company noted that availability, capabilities, and timing of the collaboration are subject to change.