Google stated it found a zero-day vulnerability within the SQLite open-source database engine utilizing its massive language mannequin (LLM) assisted framework known as Huge Sleep (previously Venture Naptime).
The tech large described the event because the “first real-world vulnerability” uncovered utilizing the unreal intelligence (AI) agent.
“We consider that is the primary public instance of an AI agent discovering a beforehand unknown exploitable memory-safety concern in extensively used real-world software program,” the Huge Sleep crew stated in a weblog submit shared with The Hacker Information.
The vulnerability in query is a stack buffer underflow in SQLite, which happens when a chunk of software program references a reminiscence location previous to the start of the reminiscence buffer, thereby leading to a crash or arbitrary code execution.
“This usually happens when a pointer or its index is decremented to a place earlier than the buffer, when pointer arithmetic outcomes ready earlier than the start of the legitimate reminiscence location, or when a adverse index is used,” based on a Widespread Weak spot Enumeration (CWE) description of the bug class.
Following accountable disclosure, the shortcoming has been addressed as of early October 2024. It is value noting that the flaw was found in a improvement department of the library, that means it was flagged earlier than it made it into an official launch.
Venture Naptime was first detailed by Google in June 2024 as a technical framework to enhance automated vulnerability discovery approaches. It has since developed into Huge Sleep, as a part of a broader collaboration between Google Venture Zero and Google DeepMind.
With Huge Sleep, the concept is to leverage an AI agent to simulate human habits when figuring out and demonstrating safety vulnerabilities by profiting from an LLM’s code comprehension and reasoning skills.
This entails utilizing a collection of specialised instruments that enable the agent to navigate via the goal codebase, run Python scripts in a sandboxed surroundings to generate inputs for fuzzing, and debug this system and observe outcomes.
“We expect that this work has super defensive potential. Discovering vulnerabilities in software program earlier than it is even launched, signifies that there isn’t any scope for attackers to compete: the vulnerabilities are fastened earlier than attackers also have a probability to make use of them,” Google stated.
The corporate, nonetheless, additionally emphasised that these are nonetheless experimental outcomes, including “the place of the Huge Sleep crew is that at current, it is seemingly {that a} target-specific fuzzer can be at the least as efficient (at discovering vulnerabilities).”