An administrator is investigating a zero-day vulnerability on a core system. If the vulnerability is not patched, the negative impact to business could be significant. The vendor has released a patch, but it requires downtime to deploy. Which of the following actions should the administrator take?

Creating a standard change request typically involves a longer review and approval process, which may delay the application of the urgent patch. In scenarios involving zero-day vulnerabilities, time is of the essence, and waiting for standard processes could leave the system vulnerable to exploitation.

Freezing all changes would prevent the deployment of the essential patch needed to address the zero-day vulnerability. While freezing changes can be a sound strategy in certain contexts, it is counterproductive when immediate action is required to safeguard the system from significant risks.

Continuing operations without applying the patch poses a severe risk, as it exposes the system to potential attacks that could exploit the zero-day vulnerability. Delaying the patch until the next change interval would be irresponsible, as it could lead to significant negative impacts on the business.