LiteLLM supply chain attack started with an exposed master key

A recent supply chain attack on LiteLLM began with an exposed master key in a public GitHub repository. This occurred on May 27, when an open source tool used by LiteLLM accidentally committed the key to the LiteLLHarnes/lite-harness repository. Despite the developers quickly identifying and removing the error, the master key remained exposed.

The attacker then used the key to gain owner-level access to LiteLLM's GitHub repositories on October 10th. This allowed them to execute malicious activities, including stealing GitHub CLI OAuth tokens and other internal system credentials. The attack was made possible by the GitHub CLI tokens, which don't trigger GitHub's security measures typically used to perform sensitive actions.

As a result, the attacker was able to make changes to various repositories, steal additional keys and tokens, and potentially exfiltrate sensitive information. LiteLLM developers are now revoking all associated tokens and keys to secure their systems. They strongly recommend changing passwords and rotating exposed keys to prevent any further unauthorized access.