# Kimi K3 finds Redis zero-days — 32 agents build authenticated RCE in 27 min

> A 32-agent Kimi K3 run cloned Redis, fuzzed it, debugged crashes in GDB, and shipped an RCE proof of concept.

- Org: Bera Buddies
- Date: 2026-07-24
- Category: security, model
- Source: https://thehackernews.com/2026/07/kimi-k3-agents-found-redis-zero-days.html
- Canonical page: https://ai-tldr.dev/releases/berabuddies-kimi-k3-redis-zero-days/

## In short

Moonshot's Kimi K3, driven by 32 coordinated agents, found 19 Redis zero-days and produced authenticated remote-code-execution PoCs. Redis shipped patches for seven versions on July 23.

## What it is

Researchers at Bera Buddies used Moonshot's open-weight Kimi K3 model to run an autonomous vulnerability-discovery workflow against Redis. The agents found 19 zero-days and wrote authenticated remote-code-execution exploits for Redis 6.2.22, 7.4.9, 8.6.4, and 8.8.0. Redis pushed seven patched versions on July 23 in response.

## How it works

Kimi K3 coordinated 32 specialised agents that cloned the Redis source tree, generated fuzzers, instrumented the binary, and used GDB to root-cause crashes. The lead bug is a double-free in stream consumer groups: a crafted RESTORE payload makes two consumers share the same pending-entry record, so freeing one leaves the other holding a dangling pointer. A separate heap overflow lives in the bundled RedisBloom TDigest module.

## Why it matters

Every RCE chain in the write-up requires an authenticated client with access to the RESTORE command, so this is not a pre-auth internet worm — but it does show a mid-tier open model orchestrating end-to-end 0-day discovery and PoC development in minutes, not weeks. Redis operators should upgrade to a patched build; the same class of AI-agent triage will now be pointed at other C daemons.

## Try it

https://github.com/berabuddies/redis-poc

## Quick facts

- Researcher: Chaofan Shou (Bera Buddies)
- Model used: Kimi K3 (Moonshot)
- Agents: 32 coordinated agents
- Redis versions affected: 6.2.22, 7.4.9, 8.6.4, 8.8.0
- Patched versions: 6.2.23, 7.2.15, 7.4.10, 8.2.8, 8.4.5, 8.6.5, 8.8.1
- Access required: Authenticated (RESTORE command)
- CVE: CVE-2026-25589

## FAQ

### Is this exploit pre-authentication?

No. Every chain Bera Buddies published requires an authenticated Redis client with access to the RESTORE command, and the Streams paths additionally need EVAL and XGROUP. The findings matter because a compromised low-privilege credential can now escalate to code execution, not because an internet-exposed Redis is instantly ownable.

### Which Redis versions should I upgrade to?

Move off 6.2.22, 7.4.9, 8.6.4, and 8.8.0. Redis shipped seven patched builds on July 23, 2026: 6.2.23, 7.2.15, 7.4.10, 8.2.8, 8.4.5, 8.6.5, and 8.8.1. The stream-RESTORE double-free and the RedisBloom TDigest heap overflow are both addressed.

### How autonomous was Kimi K3 really?

Chaofan Shou claims 32 agents produced 19 zero-days in about 90 minutes and a full Redis 8.8.0 exploit chain in 27 minutes, coordinated by Kimi K3 with human prompts limited to 'find memory-corruption bugs'. Those numbers are self-reported and neither Redis nor Moonshot has independently confirmed them.

### Where can I read the PoCs?

Bera Buddies published the non-destructive proof-of-concept exploits at github.com/berabuddies/redis-poc, covering the stream consumer-group NACK double-free for 6.2.22, 7.4.9, and 8.6.4, plus the TDigest heap overflow for 8.8.0. The lead CVE is CVE-2026-25589.

## Links

- [The Hacker News Report](https://thehackernews.com/2026/07/kimi-k3-agents-found-redis-zero-days.html)
- [PoC Repository](https://github.com/berabuddies/redis-poc)
- [Redis 8.8.1 Release](https://github.com/redis/redis/releases/tag/8.8.1)
- [Redis 6.2.23 Release](https://github.com/redis/redis/releases/tag/6.2.23)
- [Cybersecurity News](https://cybersecuritynews.com/redis-server-0-day-exploit/)