New Prompt Injection Attack Vectors Through MCP Sampling


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:

  • Qbot malware now uses Windows MSDT zero-day in phishing attacks

    June 7, 2022

    A critical Windows zero-day vulnerability, known as Follina and still waiting for an official fix from Microsoft, is now being actively exploited in ongoing phishing attacks to infect recipients with Qbot malware. Proofpoint first reported Monday that the same zero-day was used in phishing targeting US and EU government agencies. Last week, the enterprise security firm also ...

  • Hackers are now hiding inside networks for longer. That’s not a good sign

    June 7, 2022

    The amount of time cyber criminals intruders are spending inside victims’ networks is increasing, providing them with the ability to carry out higher complexity campaigns and more damaging cyber attacks. According to analysis by cybersecurity researchers at Sophos, who examined incidents targeting organisations around the world and across a wide range of industry sectors, the median ...

  • New SVCReady malware loads from Word doc properties

    June 7, 2022

    A previously unknown malware loader named SVCReady has been discovered in phishing attacks, featuring an unusual way of loading the malware from Word documents onto compromised machines. More specifically, it uses VBA macro code to execute shellcode stored in the properties of a document that arrives on the target as an email attachment. According to a new ...

  • Closing the Door: DeadBolt Ransomware Locks Out Vendors With Multitiered Extortion Scheme

    June 6, 2022

    The DeadBolt ransomware kicked off 2022 with a slew of attacks that targeted internet-facing Network-Attached Storage (NAS) devices. It was first seen targeting QNAP Systems, Inc. in January 2022. According to a report from attack surface solutions provider Censys.io, as of Jan. 26, 2022, out of 130,000 QNAP NAS devices that were potential targets, 4,988 ...

  • The Hacker Gold Rush That’s Poised to Eclipse Ransomware

    June 5, 2022

    Ransomware attacks, including those of the massively disruptive and dangerous variety, have proved difficult to combat comprehensively. Hospitals, government agencies, schools, and even critical infrastructure companies continue to face debilitating attacks and large ransom demands from hackers. But as governments around the world and law enforcement in the United States have grown serious about cracking ...

  • Understanding REvil: REvil Threat Actors May Have Returned (Updated)

    June 3, 2022

    REvil has emerged as one of the world’s most notorious ransomware operators. In summer 2021, it extracted an $11 million payment from the U.S. subsidiary of the world’s largest meatpacking company based in Brazil, demanded $5 million from a Brazilian medical diagnostics company and launched a large-scale attack on dozens, perhaps hundreds, of companies that ...