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:

  • NetSpectre — New Remote Spectre Attack Steals Data Over the Network

    July 26, 2018

    A team of security researchers has discovered a new Spectre attack that can be launched over the network, unlike all other Spectre variants that require some form of local code execution on the target system. Dubbed “NetSpectre,” the new remote side-channel attack, which is related to Spectre variant 1, abuses speculative execution to perform bounds-check bypass ...

  • Massive Malspam Campaign Finds a New Vector for FlawedAmmyy RAT

    July 20, 2018

    A widespread spam campaign from the well-known financial criminal group TA505 is spreading the FlawedAmmyy RAT using a brand-new vector: Weaponized PDFs containing malicious SettingContent-ms files. The SettingContent-ms file format was introduced in Windows 10; it allows a user to create “shortcuts” to various Windows 10 setting pages. “All this file does is open the Control Panel ...

  • DDoS Attacks Get Bigger, Smarter and More Diverse

    July 17, 2018

    DDoS attacks are relentless. New techniques, new targets and a new class of attackers continue to reinvigorate one of the internet’s oldest nemeses. Distributed denial of service attacks, bent on taking websites offline by overwhelming domains or specific application infrastructure with massive traffic flows, continue to pose a major challenge to businesses of all stripes. Being ...

  • Investigation reveals elaborate technology terror web

    July 16, 2018

    In late December 2015 a uniformed Pentagon spokesman, Colonel Steve Warren, made a video announcement about “Operation Inherent Resolve”, the US military’s campaign against the so-called Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria. The spokesman gave details about 10 senior IS figures who had been targeted and killed, many in drone strikes, over the course ...

  • Two Zero-Day Exploits Found After Someone Uploaded ‘Unarmed’ PoC to VirusTotal

    July 2, 2018

    Security researchers at Microsoft have unveiled details of two critical and important zero-day vulnerabilities that had recently been discovered after someone uploaded a malicious PDF file to VirusTotal, and get patched before being used in the wild. In late March, researchers at ESET found a malicious PDF file on VirusTotal, which they shared with the security team ...

  • RAMpage Attack Explained – Exploiting RowHammer On Android Again!

    June 29, 2018

    A team of security researchers has discovered a new set of techniques that could allow hackers to bypass all kind of present mitigations put in place to prevent DMA-based Rowhammer attacks against Android devices. Dubbed RAMpage, the new technique (CVE-2018-9442) could re-enable an unprivileged Android app running on the victim’s device to take advantage from the previously ...