Security researchers have found more than 800 instances of a Chinese-made AI hacking tool left open to the internet without a password. The software is called Artex.
What is the tool
Artex is an open-source autonomous penetration testing tool. It probes computer systems for weaknesses automatically. Since its public release in July, it has been linked to several cyberattacks. Because the software is free, anyone can download it and run it on their own servers. This makes it a popular choice for those who cannot access Anthropic or OpenAI’s most advanced cybersecurity models.
Microsoft previously described Artex as a system of AI agents. These agents can conduct cyberattacks from reconnaissance through data exfiltration with little needed human interaction.
How many systems are exposed
Censys, a cybersecurity firm that scans the internet for exposed systems, identified the 800 distinct deployments. These instances are accessible from the web without needing a login.
Silas Cutler, principal security researcher at Censys, wrote the blog post detailing the findings. He noted that not every instance of Artex is operated maliciously. Many are used for authorised testers. However, it is unclear why hundreds of these Artex systems are exposed to the web, as the software does not require them to be accessible from the internet.
The risks of misconfiguration
The findings show how even powerful hacking tools can be misconfigured to be publicly accessible by anyone. This increases the chance that someone will find and misuse them. The publicly accessible systems also expose attack tools, such as implants. These are hidden malicious software used to compromise and maintain persistent access to a victim’s network.
Recent attacks linked to the software
Security companies have linked the use of Artex to several broad-scale cyberattacks. One occurred against the Korean finance industry in September. CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity giant, attributed the attacks to a Chinese-speaking hacker. The hacker used an Artex instance in the attacks, in part because they had left an “open directory” hosting the system.
Censys said its data showed the Artex instance in question had been publicly exposed for months. It appeared to contain more attack data that extended “well beyond South Korean banks,” including payment and gaming companies.
Artex was also used in an attack on IT support giant ConnectWise earlier in October. This allowed Chinese-linked hackers to spy on thousands of organisations whose data and files are hosted in Microsoft’s cloud. Microsoft, which has visibility into the attack, said in a blog post that the hackers used Artex to break into customer’s cloud environments and steal their data at such speed that defenders had “little time to detect and respond.”
Common weaknesses exploited
Many of the attacks linked to Artex involved exploiting simple vulnerabilities. These include guessing weak or known passwords and a lack of multi-factor authentication.
What this means
The findings show that simple vulnerabilities, including misconfigurations, can expose both the attacker and their targets. Artex has since announced it would go closed-source. This effectively limits further releases for paid customers. There are still dozens of copies of Artex’s code available on code-sharing sites that can still be used in active attacks.
