Shannon

Shannon is an open-source, agentic AI pentester that maps repositories, plans attacks, and executes exploits against web applications to find vulnerabilities.

Shannon is an open-source, agentic pentesting engine that automates vulnerability discovery by executing actual exploits against web applications. The tool functions by reading source code repositories to create a structural map, including control flow and data flow. Once it identifies potential attack vectors, it plans and executes working exploits to confirm or dismiss vulnerabilities. It is designed for security engineers and developers who require evidence-based security reports rather than speculative scanner output. Shannon operates as a white-box testing tool, allowing users to run it locally or within CI/CD pipelines using their own model keys for inference.

Shannon at a glance

Best for: Software engineer
Runs on: CLI, open source
Pricing: Shannon OSS is free ($0); no seat or usage caps; users pay their own model costs.
Released: September 2025
Category: AI coding tool
Website: keygraph.io

Key features

Maps source code entry points, auth flows, and database access
Executes real exploits to validate vulnerabilities
Provides reproduction steps for confirmed findings
Generates proof-of-concept evidence for reported bugs
Maps CWE to OWASP categories automatically
Runs locally or within CI environments
Uses BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) for model inference

Use it for

Automating penetration testing on every build
Validating security scan results with working exploits
Generating audit-ready security reports
Replacing manual security assessments with agentic testing

Alternatives to Shannon

Pentest AI — Eliminates false positives by reproducing every exploit three times.
Mantis — Automates vulnerability discovery and patching using AI agents.
Weir — It detects exact key values in agent logs and blocks them in coding sessions.
CodeAnt AI — It uses agentic testing to prove exploitability with actionable reproduction steps.
HackerOne — Combines AI agents with expert human researchers to prioritize and fix real risks.
ARTEX — Runs autonomous multi-agent penetration testing with a dual-graph architecture.
PentAGI — It autonomously manages penetration testing workflows within a secure Docker sandbox.
Flash Agents — Offloads reading and typing to cheap workers while keeping Claude for review
VulnClaw — It uses LLM agents to autonomously execute end-to-end security testing loops.
Autonomous Pentest Agent — Dual-graph architecture for asset synchronization and multi-step attack planning.
claude-mem — It shares persistent, searchable agent memory across sessions and devices.
CodeScan Artex — It uses multiple parallel AI agents to read source code and verify vulnerabilities.

All Shannon alternatives