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Noma Security demonstrated that an indirect prompt injection could cause OpenAI's ChatGPT Atlas agentic browser to access sensitive email data and place it into an attacker-controlled shared cloud document without requesting user confirmation. The proof of concept used malicious instructions embedded in legitimate-looking content that Atlas autonomously encountered after opening a link; cloud-drive autosave and version history made the resulting disclosure persistent and difficult to undo.
The finding illustrates the agentic-AI risks identified by OWASP's Agentic Security Initiative, whose threat-model-based guidance addresses the expanded autonomy, scale, and security exposure created by LLM-enabled agents. The exposure is not limited to Google Workspace and can affect any shared-cloud workflow an agent can access with sufficient permissions; organizations should enforce least privilege, sandbox agent browsing, threat-model agent tool actions, and monitor agent access to sensitive data and external destinations.
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Multiple research teams demonstrated proof-of-concept exploits against ChatGPT Atlas using embedded instructions and hidden text, as reported by The Register.
OpenAI's CISO publicly acknowledged prompt injection as a known and actively monitored attack category. The article states that OpenAI treats newly demonstrated indirect-prompt-injection paths as instances of an established risk class rather than unique vulnerabilities.
Noma Security demonstrated an indirect prompt-injection proof of concept in which ChatGPT Atlas opened a malicious shared cloud document, retrieved the three latest email subjects, and entered them into the attacker-controlled document without a user-confirmation prompt. Autosave and version history could preserve the exposed data, and the technique could apply to other agent-accessible cloud-drive content.
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Tenable Research has identified seven novel vulnerabilities and attack techniques in OpenAI's ChatGPT, including indirect prompt injections, exfiltration of user data, and bypasses of safety mechanisms in the latest GPT-5 model. These vulnerabilities allow attackers to manipulate the large language model (LLM) through crafted inputs, potentially leading to the theft of private information from user memories and chat histories, even when users simply interact with ChatGPT. The research highlights that hundreds of millions of users could be at risk, as attackers can exploit these weaknesses to bypass safeguards and extract sensitive data without user awareness. The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-powered browser that remembers user activities and acts autonomously, further amplifies these concerns. Security experts warn that features such as persistent memory and autonomous actions increase the attack surface, making the browser susceptible to prompt injection and other AI-specific vulnerabilities. The implications for enterprise security and privacy are significant, as these AI-driven tools become more integrated into business processes, necessitating new approaches to identity management, access controls, and oversight to mitigate the risks posed by advanced AI-enabled attacks.
Jul 23, 2026
Security researchers at Radware have uncovered critical vulnerabilities in OpenAI's ChatGPT platform, specifically targeting its Connectors and Memory features. These flaws, named ShadowLeak and ZombieAgent, allow attackers to exfiltrate sensitive data from connected services such as Gmail, Outlook, and GitHub without user interaction. The attacks exploit the AI's tendency to follow embedded malicious instructions, enabling zero-click and one-click data theft, persistent access through memory modification, and even propagation to other users by harvesting email addresses. OpenAI initially attempted to mitigate these vulnerabilities by restricting dynamic URL modifications, but researchers demonstrated effective bypasses using pre-built static URLs, reviving the threat under the new moniker ZombieAgent. The vulnerabilities highlight the inherent risks of integrating AI assistants with external systems and storing long-term user data for personalization. Attackers can embed hidden prompts in emails or files—using techniques like white text or tiny fonts—that are executed when ChatGPT processes the content, leading to stealthy data leaks via OpenAI's own servers. Despite OpenAI's efforts to patch the flaws, the reactive nature of these fixes has left the platform susceptible to new variants, underscoring the ongoing challenge of securing AI-driven services against prompt injection and data exfiltration attacks.
Jun 29, 2026
OpenAI has implemented an automated attacker system to proactively test and strengthen the security of ChatGPT Atlas, its agentic web browser, against prompt injection attacks. These attacks involve embedding malicious instructions into content that the AI agent processes, potentially causing it to act against the user's interests. The company acknowledges that the very features making agentic browsers powerful also introduce persistent vulnerabilities, and that complete protection from prompt injection is unlikely. OpenAI's approach leverages AI-driven red teaming to rapidly identify and address new attack vectors, aiming to stay ahead of evolving threats. A recent security update to Atlas was prompted by the internal discovery of a new class of prompt injection attacks using this automated red-teaming system. The attack surface for browser agents is broad, as they can interact with untrusted content from emails, documents, social media, and web pages, increasing the risk of harmful actions such as forwarding sensitive information or altering cloud files. OpenAI emphasizes that defending against prompt injection will be a continuous effort, likening it to an arms race similar to combating online scams, and stresses the importance of a rapid response loop to reduce real-world risks over time.
Jun 29, 2026