Redazione RHC : 4 September 2025 08:15
The release of Hexstrike-AI marks a turning point in the cybersecurity landscape. The framework, billed as a next-generation tool for red teams and researchers, is capable of orchestrating over 150 specialized AI agents, capable of autonomously conducting scans, exploitation, and persistence on targets. However, within hours of its release, it became the subject of discussion on the dark web, where several actors attempted to use it to target zero-day vulnerabilities, aiming to install webshells for unauthenticated remote code execution.
Hexstrike-AI was billed as a “revolutionary AI-based offensive security framework,” designed to combine professional tools and autonomous agents. However, its release quickly sparked interest among attackers, who discussed its use to exploit three critical vulnerabilities in Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway, disclosed on August 26. In just a few hours, a tool intended to strengthen defenses was transformed into a real exploitation engine.
The framework’s architecture is distinguished by its abstraction and orchestration layer, which allows models like GPT, Claude, and Copilot to manage security tools without direct supervision. At the heart of the system are so-called MCP Agents, which connect language models to attacking functions. Each tool, from Nmap scanning to persistence modules, is encapsulated in callable functions, making integration and automation seamless. The framework is also equipped with resilience logic, capable of ensuring operational continuity even in the event of errors.
Particularly relevant, the Check Point article reports, is the system’s ability to translate generic commands into technical workflows, drastically reducing complexity for operators. This eliminates the need for lengthy manual steps and allows instructions like “exploit NetScaler” to be transformed into precise and adaptive sequences of actions. In this way, complex operations are made accessible and repeatable, lowering the barrier to entry for those wishing to exploit advanced vulnerabilities.
The timing of the release amplifies the risks. Citrix has disclosed three zero-day vulnerabilities: CVE-2025-7775, already exploited in the wild with webshells observed on compromised systems; CVE-2025-7776, a high-risk memory management flaw; and CVE-2025-8424, related to access control in management interfaces.Traditionally, exploiting these flaws would have required weeks of development and advanced knowledge. With Hexstrike-AI, however, the time is reduced to a few minutes and actions can be parallelized on a large scale.
The consequences are already visible: in the hours following the disclosure of the CVEs, several underground forums reported discussions on how to use the framework to identify and exploit vulnerable instances. Some actors have even sold the compromised systems, signaling a qualitative leap in the speed and commercialization of intrusions. Among the main risks is the drastically reduced window between disclosure and mass exploitation, which makes a paradigm shift in defense urgent.
The suggested mitigations point to a clear path forward. It is crucial to promptly apply Citrix-released patches and strengthen authentication and access controls. At the same time, organizations are called upon to evolve their defenses by adopting adaptive detection, defensive AI, faster patching pipelines, and constant monitoring of dark web discussions. Additionally, it is recommended to design resilient systems based on segmentation, least privilege, and recovery capabilities to reduce the impact of any compromises.
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