The Vulnpocalypse Is Repricing the Bug Bounty Economy

The surge of AI-powered vulnerability reports is dramatically lowering bug bounty prices, particularly for mid-tier vulnerabilities worth $10,000 - $50,000. This is leading to increased submission volumes, extended triage and payout times, and a shift in the bug bounty market towards a ‘volume game’ where researchers increasingly rely on AI tools to find numerous lower-value vulnerabilities. Despite these challenges, the bug bounty ecosystem is not expected to disappear, but will likely evolve with researchers adapting to a market where vulnerability discovery is cheaper and more abundant.