Google’s Big Sleep AI Makes History by Stopping a Live Zero-Day Attack Before It Happens

Google's Big Sleep AI agent recently made a historic leap by stopping a critical zero-day attack targeting SQLite before any damage occurred. This marks the first known case of an AI proactively preventing a real-world cyber breach.

Big Sleep operates through a sophisticated architecture combining advanced AI with human-like security research workflows. This integration enabled it to detect the SQLite vulnerability (CVE-2025-6965) early and accurately.

How did Big Sleep prevent the zero-day attack?

The vulnerable SQLite versions had a memory corruption flaw that could allow attackers to manipulate databases. Big Sleep used iterative code analysis and sandboxed testing to identify this flaw before hackers exploited it.

This vulnerability was confirmed and patched in SQLite version 3.50.2 on June 28, 2025, thanks to the AI's early detection that outpaced traditional methods.

Did you know?
Big Sleep is built on AI models designed to mimic human security researchers’ workflows, making it uniquely effective at discovering vulnerabilities missed by traditional methods.

What role did threat intelligence play in stopping hackers?

Google combined its Threat Intelligence Group's data on suspicious activities with Big Sleep's AI analysis. This collaboration flagged early indicators of an imminent zero-day exploit, enabling the team to act swiftly.

The synergy of threat data and AI detection exemplifies a transformative shift from reactive patching to proactive cybersecurity defense.

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Google’s AI sets a new standard in cyber defense

Google CEO Sundar Pichai called this achievement "a first for an AI agent, definitely not the last." Big Sleep’s success demonstrates how AI tools can revolutionize cybersecurity by anticipating attacks rather than just responding to them.

Kent Walker, Alphabet’s President of Global Affairs, highlighted how Big Sleep predicted the imminent exploitation and helped prevent a widespread threat to millions of applications relying on SQLite.

Big Sleep’s success shifts cybersecurity tactics

This milestone affirms a new paradigm where AI and human threat intelligence jointly anticipate and neutralize cyber threats. Google's integrated approach is expanding to protect other open-source projects, aiming to improve security broadly.

As AI-powered defenses like Big Sleep evolve, cybersecurity strategies will likely become more predictive, automated, and capable of mitigating risks before damage occurs.

This historic prevention shows AI’s growing role in safeguarding digital infrastructure, promising faster, more effective responses to emerging cyber threats worldwide.