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:
- FBI issues warning after crypto-crooks steal $1.3 billion in just three months
September 1, 2022
Amid a wave of hacks that have cost investors billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency, the FBI is calling on decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms to improve their security. In a warning posted on its website, the FBI said that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting DeFi platforms to steal cryptocurrency, often exploiting vulnerabilities in smart contracts to part ...
- Oh no, that James Webb Space Telescope snap might actually contain malware
September 1, 2022
Scumbags are using a photo from the James Webb Space Telescope to smuggle Windows malware onto victims’ computers – albeit in a roundabout way. The malicious code, written in Go, is hidden in a .jpeg of the stunning first proper image taken by the recently deployed spacecraft. More specifically, the obfuscated code is Base64-encoded and included in ...
- New ransomware hits Windows, Linux servers of Chile government agency
September 1, 2022
Chile’s national computer security and incident response team (CSIRT) has announced that a ransomware attack has impacted operations and online services of a government agency in the country. The attack started on Thursday, August 25, targeting Microsoft and VMware ESXi servers operated by the agency. The hackers stopped all running virtual machines and encrypted their files, appending ...
- Montenegro hit by ransomware attack, hackers demand $10 million
September 1, 2022
The government of Montenegro has provided more information about the attack on its critical infrastructure saying that ransomware is responsible for the damage and disruptions. Public Administration Minister Maras Dukaj stated on local television yesterday that behind the attack is an organized cybercrime group. The effects of the incindet continue for the tenth day. The minister added ...
- Vulnerability in TikTok Android app could lead to one-click account hijacking
August 31, 2022
Microsoft discovered a high-severity vulnerability in the TikTok Android application, which could have allowed attackers to compromise users’ accounts with a single click. The vulnerability, which would have required several issues to be chained together to exploit, has been fixed and Microsoft did not locate any evidence of in-the-wild exploitation. Attackers could have leveraged the ...
- Apple backports fix for actively exploited iOS zero-day to older iPhones
August 31, 2022
Apple has released new security updates to backport patches released earlier this month to older iPhones and iPads addressing a remotely exploitable WebKit zero-day that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on unpatched devices. This zero-day vulnerability is the same one Apple patched for macOS Monterey and iPhone/iPad devices on August 17, and for Safari on ...

