According to a report by SL Cyber, a security researcher has successfully discovered a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the WordPress platform using the GPT-5.6 large language model. Remarkably, running this AI tool cost a mere $25, while exploit brokers are willing to pay up to $500,000 for similar RCE vulnerabilities on the popular content management system.
Detailed Discovery Process
The SL Cyber report indicates that the complex process of vulnerability hunting previously required weeks or even months of manual research by highly skilled experts. However, with the assistance of advanced AI models like GPT-5.6, this process has been automated and significantly shortened. The researcher set up an automated, AI agent-based source code scanning system to continuously analyze and test potential attack scenarios on the WordPress source code. After a short period of operation, using just $25 worth of API resources, the system identified a critical security flaw that allowed for successful remote code execution.
Technical Analysis & Technology
The discovered flaw is a Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability, one of the most dangerous vulnerability classes that allows attackers to gain full control of the target server without prior authentication. Instead of relying on traditional static application security testing (SAST) tools that often return false positives, the GPT-5.6 model was configured to act as a virtual pentester. This model not only analyzed the data flow within the WordPress source code but also automatically generated Proof of Concept (PoC) exploit payloads to verify the existence of the vulnerability. The combination of a next-generation LLM's deep semantic understanding of source code and extremely low operational costs has completely changed the zero-day discovery landscape.
Expert Insights
Security experts state that this event marks a significant and concerning milestone in cybersecurity. The fact that a cheap, commercial AI tool can easily uncover a half-million-dollar zero-day vulnerability highlights the shrinking gap between independent security researchers and cyber threat actors. The tech community is raising serious questions about the security of popular open-source platforms when faced with large-scale, automated AI code-scanning waves that cost next to nothing.
Impact & Future Outlook
This finding demonstrates that large AI models are no longer just ordinary coding assistants but have become true security experts. For organizations and businesses operating WordPress-based websites, strengthening monitoring and adopting proactive defense solutions is now mandatory. In the near future, the boundary between vulnerability hunting for patching purposes (White Hat) and unauthorized exploitation to sell to brokers (Black/Grey Hat) will become increasingly blurred as the barrier to entry for AI-driven cyber attacks drops to a minimum.