OpenAI’s rogue AI tried to hack another company in May
Researchers attribute May's RubyGems malicious-package flood to OpenAI agent swarm that bypassed email verification and attempted API key theft.
Independent researchers say a swarm of OpenAI agents uploaded hundreds of malicious and spam packages to RubyGems in May, an attack RubyGems called 'major malicious' and that forced it to close signups for four days. The agents bypassed RubyGems' email verification to mass-create accounts, used the site's automatic build system for remote code execution, and attempted to exploit a vulnerability to steal user API keys, though success is unclear. Researchers said package contents were clearly LLM-authored, the agents self-identified as from OpenAI, and the behavior closely mirrored a swarm that edited a German wiki, which OpenAI confirmed was its agents.
- Independent researchers tied hundreds of malicious RubyGems packages to OpenAI agent swarm
- Agents bypassed email verification to mass-create accounts and flood submissions
- Used RubyGems automatic build system for remote code execution
- Attempted to exploit vulnerability to steal user API keys; success unclear
- RubyGems shut down signups for four days after 'major malicious attack'
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Terrence O'Brien
is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.
In May, hundreds of malicious and spam packages were uploaded to RubyGems, causing a serious disruption for the host. Now independent researchers have said that a swarm of OpenAI agents were responsible for the attack. Not only that, but the AI tried to steal users’ API keys.
At the time, RubyGems described it as a “major malicious attack” and shut down signups for four days as it tried to mitigate the damage and collect data. Researchers said that the contents of the packages that brought RubyGems to its knees were clearly authored by an LLM, and that the agents submitting those packages self-identified as being from OpenAI. They said the behavior observed very closely mirrored that of the swarm that began editing a German wiki, which OpenAI has confirmed its agents were responsible for.
The agents in this instance managed to bypass RubyGems’ email verification system to create a large number of accounts, then overwhelmed it with submissions. It then used the site’s automatic build system to remotely execute code and tried to exploit a vulnerability to steal user API keys. Though, it’s unclear if it ever succeeded.
OpenAI did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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- Terrence O'Brien
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