Hackers Leverage Hexstrike-AI Tool to Exploit Zero Day Vulnerabilities Within 10 Minutes

Cybersecurity

Threat actors are leveraging Hexstrike-AI, an AI-powered offensive security framework, to exploit zero-day CVEs within ten minutes.

Hexstrike-AI Overview

Initially designed for red teams, Hexstrike-AI’s architecture has been adapted by malicious actors. It automates zero-day exploits, integrating large-language models with over 150 security tools to enhance operational workflows.

Key Features

• Automation: Executes zero-day exploits in under ten minutes.
• Integration: Connects large-language models to numerous tools for resilient operations.
• Adaptation: Quickly weaponized against Citrix CVEs, prompting the need for AI-driven defenses.

The system operates on a FastMCP server core, linking models like Claude, GPT, and Copilot to security tools via MCP decorators. Its AI agents can autonomously execute functions such as nmap_scan and execute_exploit.

Recent Exploits

Dark-web activity indicates the use of Hexstrike-AI against new Citrix NetScaler vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-7775, CVE-2025-7776, CVE-2025-8424). The framework’s MCP orchestration converts high-level commands into technical workflows, automating reconnaissance and execution phases.

Architecture

• Abstraction Layer: Translates operator intents into precise function calls.
• MCP Agents: Bridge large-language models with tools, managing tasks like nmap scanning and custom exploit modules.
• Automation & Resilience: Ensures operations continue uninterrupted with built-in retry mechanisms.
• Intent-to-Execution Translation: Constructs workflows based on intent strings.

Hexstrike-AI reduces the time-to-exploit for vulnerabilities, as demonstrated by the rapid exploitation of Citrix CVEs.

Mitigations

Organizations are advised to accelerate patching and implement AI-driven detection systems. Traditional signatures are inadequate against such advanced threats. Monitoring, segmentation, and autonomous response strategies are essential to counter AI-enhanced offenses.