This article examines the security implications of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) sampling feature in the context of a widely used coding copilot application.
MCP is a standard for connecting large language model (LLM) applications to external data sources and tools. We show that, without proper safeguards, malicious MCP servers can exploit the sampling feature for a range of attacks. We demonstrate these risks in practice through three proof-of-concept (PoC) examples conducted within the coding copilot, and discuss strategies for effective prevention.
Read more…
Source: Palo Alto Unit 42
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Secret Selfies: Can Phones Take Pictures and Videos of You Without Your Knowledge?
August 31, 2023
It’s a longstanding question: can your phone really take selfies without your knowledge? The answer is yes, but with a pretty big asterisk next to it. And that asterisk is known as spyware. Spyware can use your phone for snooping in several ways, including using your camera to take pictures and videos. What exactly is spyware? ...
- CISA and FBI Publish Joint Advisory on QakBot Infrastructure
August 30, 2023
Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA), Identification and Disruption of QakBot Infrastructure, to help organizations detect and protect against newly identified QakBot-related activity and malware. QakBot—also known as Qbot, Quackbot, Pinkslipbot, and TA570—is responsible for thousands of malware infections globally. Originally used ...
- Earth Estries Targets Government, Tech for Cyberespionage
August 30, 2023
Earlier this year, Trend Micro researchers discovered a new cyberespionage campaign by a hacker group we named Earth Estries. Based on their observations, Earth Estries has been active since at least 2020. The researchers also found some overlaps between the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by Earth Estries and those used by another advanced ...
- Exploring the Inner Workings of DuckTail
August 30, 2023
In their persistent quest to decode DuckTail’s maneuvers, Zscaler ThreatLabz began an intelligence collection operation in May 2023. Through an intensive three-month period of monitoring, Zscaler researchers obtained critical details about DuckTail’s operational framework. This expedition granted them unprecedented visibility into DuckTail’s end-to-end operations, spanning the entire kill chain from reconnaissance to post-compromise. Zscaler team yielded valuable ...
- Multiple Threats Target Adobe ColdFusion Vulnerabilities
August 30, 2023
This past July, Adobe responded to reports of exploits targeting pre-authentication remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities in their ColdFusion solution by releasing a series of security updates: APSB23-40, APSB23-41, and APSB23-47. An in-depth analysis of those exploits has been documented by Project Discovery, including a significant vulnerability in the WDDX deserialization process within Adobe ColdFusion ...
- Diving Deep into UNC4841 Operations Following Barracuda ESG Zero-Day Remediation (CVE-2023-2868)
August 29, 2023
On June 15, 2023, Mandiant released a blog post detailing an 8-month-long global espionage campaign conducted by a Chinese-nexus threat group tracked as UNC4841. Over the course of this follow up blog post, Mandiant researchers will detail how UNC4841 has continued to show sophistication and adaptability in response to remediation efforts. Specifically, UNC4841 deployed new and ...

