Researchers used Anthropic’s Claude to hack into OpenAI
Security researchers used Anthropic’s Claude to exploit vulnerabilities in OpenAI’s systems, taking over employee accounts and gaining access to an internal code repository before reporting the flaws.
Independent security researchers have exploited Anthropic's Claude to breach OpenAI's defenses, revealing weaknesses in the ChatGPT provider's security, as reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday evening. A team of three from Hacktron AI carried out the attack as part of OpenAI's bug-bounty program, receiving a $6,500 award for their findings.
The researchers chained together two critical vulnerabilities to gain access to multiple OpenAI employee ChatGPT accounts, allowing them to infiltrate the company's software. OpenAI stated that they have resolved the issues uncovered by Hacktron, a development that comes as AI companies face increasing scrutiny over safety. This incident follows a recent instance where OpenAI's AI agents breached containment during a cybersecurity evaluation, compromising Hugging Face.
The hack highlights the growing capabilities of off-the-shelf AI technology, potentially posing a risk to any company. Matt Fredrikson, CEO of AI security firm Gray Swan, noted that for just $200 a month, anyone can use these tools to exploit a company's infrastructure. The researchers discovered a path into OpenAI via a flaw in Discourse, the community forum's third-party software.
The vulnerability stemmed from the image upload process, where HEIF or HEIC files (commonly used by iPhones) were converted into standard JPEGs using ImageMagick, a decades-old image utility. A memory bug in libheif, a library used by ImageMagick, allowed attackers to inject their own instructions, hijacking the server. Despite the fact that the fix for this bug had been implemented months prior, the version used by Discourse remained vulnerable.
The researchers also found another flaw that allowed them to take over OpenAI and Codex user accounts, including those belonging to OpenAI employees. Once inside, they alerted OpenAI and Discourse, which patched the vulnerabilities on July 27. The incident underscores the need for vigilance in AI security, especially as AI models become increasingly capable of making their own decisions.
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