A threat actor used the open-source Hermes AI agent in unattended 'YOLO' mode to automate post-exploitation activity during an alleged breach of Thailand's Ministry of Finance. The activity was uncovered by threat intelligence company Hunt.io and security researcher Bob Diachenko after they discovered several exposed web directories containing hundreds of files associated with the operation.
Hermes AI Agent and Unattended Mode
Hermes is an open-source AI agent released in February 2026 that runs as a persistent service and can remember information between different task sessions. The AI agent can interact with tools and execute commands while working on tasks provided by the operator. The software includes a setting known as YOLO mode, which removes prompts that would require a person to approve dangerous commands.
The researchers were able to recover environment information and Hermes output logs from the exposed directories that showed the operator had enabled this unattended mode. This allowed the agent to execute commands and continue analyzing systems without waiting for human approval at each step.
Automation of Post-Exploitation Activity
Five recovered Hermes call logs show the agent was used to find a way to elevate privileges, scan for kernel vulnerabilities, enumerate services, search for SUID and SGID binaries, inspect containers, and traverse file systems. Hermes was also told to use a customized version of the LinPEAS privilege-escalation enumeration script to collect information from a Ministry of Finance host.
In another task, the operator instructed Hermes to recursively search a web directory associated with the Office of Permanent Secretary for Finance. The agent cataloged PDF, DOC, and XLS files, including performance assessments and personnel records dating back to 2012. However, Hunt says it found no evidence that these files were exfiltrated.
Exposed Directories and Attack Infrastructure
Between July 9 and July 13, Hunt.io discovered three simultaneously exposed directories on a server hosted in Hong Kong. The directories contained 585 files totaling approximately 470 MB, including exploit code, web shells, HTTP tunneling tools, custom scripts, stolen credentials, compiled payloads, and logs generated by the Hermes AI agent.
The recovered files referenced Ministry of Finance systems by name, hostname, and internal IP address, and included scripts targeting internal services. Some scripts targeted the ministry's Hadoop infrastructure, Apache Ambari management platform, GlassFish administrative console, and an administrative web panel.
Notification and Response
Hunt.io and Diachenko notified ThaiCERT and Thailand's National Cyber Security Agency on July 15. According to the report, both organizations acknowledged receiving the notification that day.
The findings do not indicate that Hermes independently decided to target the ministry. Instead, the exposed logs show an operator supplying the agent with objectives and tooling while YOLO mode allowed it to carry out routine post-exploitation commands without constant supervision.
Hunt.io says the recovered artifacts depict an active intrusion in which tools had been staged and access to internal systems was expanding. However, the researchers could not determine how the attackers initially gained access.
Autonomous AI Agents in Cyberattacks
This Hermes activity is the latest example of autonomous AI agents being used to conduct cyberattacks. Earlier this month, the JadePuffer ransomware operation used an AI agent to automate an entire intrusion, including reconnaissance, credential theft, lateral movement, privilege escalation, and data encryption.
Autonomous agents can also cause real-world breaches, even if unintentional. OpenAI recently disclosed that its models autonomously hacked Hugging Face while undergoing cybersecurity benchmark testing, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities to escape a sandboxed testing environment and access the internet.
Test every layer before attackers do. Security teams log 54% of successful attacks and alert on just 14%. The rest move through your environment unseen.
Source: BleepingComputer