AutoProber vs qsag-core

AutoProber is an open-source hardware security research platform that puts an LLM agent in control of a physical CNC machine to autonomously probe circuit boards. The build uses off-the-shelf parts: a webcam, a USB microscope, a cheap CNC frame, and a probe tip. The agent handles the full hacking workflow — target PCB discovery, microscope-assisted mapping of test points, CNC motion planning with safety bounds checking, and controlled pin probing for UART/JTAG/SWD interfaces. The software stack is pure Python. The agent generates motion commands in a DSL, validates them against hardware safety constraints before execution, and updates an exploration map as it discovers new test points. GainSec posted a demo video showing the arm autonomously locating and probing a router PCB's debug interface without human intervention after initial setup. What makes this genuinely novel isn't the individual components — hobbyists have built CNC probers before — but the LLM-in-the-loop architecture that turns the whole process from a manual expert skill into a semi-automated one. Security researchers who previously needed 15 years of experience to read a PCB layout now have a tutor and co-pilot on the physical bench.

qsag-core is a fresh open-source Python toolkit from Neoxyber that addresses the OWASP Top 10 for Agentic Applications 2026 — specifically the two fastest-growing attack vectors: MCP tool poisoning and prompt injection in AI agents. The library uses pattern-based detection (not ML-based, to minimize false positives) to scan 26 MCP tool poisoning patterns across 7 categories and detect 28+ prompt injection patterns across 9 threat categories. It also catches ghost agent attempts, credential harvesting, and memory poisoning in real time. The toolkit is available on PyPI, ships with cryptographic attestations, and is licensed under Apache 2.0. It was created in early April 2026, making it genuinely new-to-the-scene. The timing is significant: a recent Dark Reading poll found 48% of cybersecurity professionals now identify agentic AI as the #1 attack vector, up from a niche concern in 2025. Microsoft released a similar (but much larger-scope) Agent Governance Toolkit in early April, which validates the problem space but leaves room for nimble open-source tooling. qsag-core is early-stage — zero stars on GitHub as of today, minimal community traction, and no documented production deployments. But it addresses a problem that's going to become critical as MCP adoption accelerates. First-mover advantage in a niche that's about to explode.