OpenAI AI Pipeline Generates 948 Linux Root Escalation Exploits in 30-Hour Run

OpenAI on Wednesday detailed a pipeline that employed an upcoming cyber-focused artificial intelligence (AI) model to validate and patch 948 local privilege escalation vulnerabilities in Linux for $1.2 million in API costs. "Our prototype identified and analyzed 2,308 candidate Linux kernel findings, dynamically reproduced 1,724 vulnerabilities, and produced 948 local privilege escalation (LPE) exploits that could allow an unprivileged local user to gain root access," the AI company said. The findings build upon 24 LPE exploits that OpenAI revealed were discovered by its GPT‑5.5‑Cyber model back in June 2026. The latest research turns this process into an agentic pipeline comprising five stages - "In a run in mid-October 2026, our pipeline using an upcoming cyber model dynamically reproduced 1,724 vulnerabilities [within 30 hours] and generated PoCs for 291 information leak…