The software vulnerability problem is much worse than you might think. When I was trying to think of how to explain it, a silly metaphor popped into my mind based on a recent experience. I can never resist a silly metaphor...
The Plumbing Metaphor
After a month of below-freezing temperatures this spring, I noticed something strange: running the cold tap in the bathroom long enough brought in water from outside the house — which was much colder than usual — leaving a slow drip when I turned it off. The drip would stop after a few minutes once the pipes warmed back up, so I had time to try to fix it myself.