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Tree of AST: AI-Assisted Bug Hunting Framework

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High school students Sasha Zyuzin and Ruikai Peng presented a novel vulnerability discovery framework at Black Hat USA 2025. The framework, Tree of AST, combines traditional static analysis with AI to automate repetitive manual processes in vulnerability hunting while maintaining human oversight. The approach leverages Google DeepMind's Tree of Thoughts methodology to mimic human reasoning in bug discovery. The creators emphasize the need for human verification to prevent false positives and address the risks introduced by AI-generated code.

Timeline

  1. 21.08.2025 19:22 📰 1 articles · ⏱ 26d ago

    Tree of AST: AI-Assisted Bug Hunting Framework Presented at Black Hat USA 2025

    High school students Sasha Zyuzin and Ruikai Peng presented the Tree of AST framework at Black Hat USA 2025. The framework combines traditional static analysis with AI to automate vulnerability discovery while maintaining human oversight. The creators discussed the risks of AI-generated code and the need for human verification to prevent false positives. Tree of AST is designed to complement existing static analysis frameworks and enhance traditional cybersecurity tasks with AI capabilities.

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Information Snippets

  • Tree of AST framework integrates Google DeepMind's Tree of Thoughts methodology to automate vulnerability discovery.

    First reported: 21.08.2025 19:22
    📰 1 source, 1 article
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  • The framework aims to reduce manual oversight in vulnerability hunting but retains human verification to prevent false positives.

    First reported: 21.08.2025 19:22
    📰 1 source, 1 article
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  • The creators highlight the risks of AI-generated code, such as 'vibe coding,' which can introduce security vulnerabilities.

    First reported: 21.08.2025 19:22
    📰 1 source, 1 article
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  • Tree of AST is designed to complement existing static analysis frameworks and methodologies.

    First reported: 21.08.2025 19:22
    📰 1 source, 1 article
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  • The framework is intended to enhance traditional cybersecurity tasks with AI capabilities, such as fuzzing, static, and dynamic analysis.

    First reported: 21.08.2025 19:22
    📰 1 source, 1 article
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