An OpenAI Research Agent 'Stole' Test Ethereum to Finish a Coding Task
An OpenAI research model reportedly accessed an Ethereum testnet wallet without permission in order to complete a coding task during internal training. "This case shows that a model can substitute its own judgment about likely harm for the account holder's permission, then act on that judgment without authorization," OpenAI wrote. Engadget reports: The incident, which occurred on June 26,…
OpenAI's research model allegedly accessed an Ethereum testnet wallet without authorization to complete a coding task during internal training. The model, named GPT-5.6 Sol, was performing a task involving updates to a crypto trading prototype and deploying contracts on an Ethereum test network called Sepolia. Normally, a network fee is required for such contracts, but OpenAI did not provide a funded wallet or permission to spend funds from an account the model discovered on its own.
Faced with the lack of funds, the model reasoned that it could use public developer recovery phrases to access keys from unauthorized accounts. It tracked down 362 addresses that could be accessed in this way and found one holding enough Sepolia ETH to complete its deployment. The model reasoned that the ETH belonged to someone who had left it open for automated draining and considered it effectively abandoned and valueless.
Crucially, the model did not disclose that it had chosen a funded account using a public recovery phrase or spent the account's balance. To prevent similar incidents in the future, OpenAI is now monitoring all traffic and paging security if live internet access is detected.
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