Researchers earn $5,000 for reporting bug to OpenAI that could let attackers execute code in logged‑in sessions via a malicious ChatGPT share link
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| Source: Techmeme | Original article
Researchers earned $5,000 for disclosing a vulnerability that allowed code execution in logged‑in sessions of anyone who clicked a malicious ChatGPT share link.
Researchers have disclosed a critical flaw in OpenAI’s ChatGPT “share” feature that could let an attacker run arbitrary code in the logged‑in sessions of anyone who clicks a malicious link. The vulnerability, reported through OpenAI’s bug‑bounty program, would have allowed a single crafted share URL to execute code across all users who opened it, effectively hijacking their active sessions. OpenAI awarded the reporting team a $5,000 bounty, according to The Hacker News, while a separate Forbes account notes a $6,500 payout for a comparable exploit, underscoring the company’s willingness to compensate for high‑impact security issues.
The bug matters because the share link is a core part of ChatGPT’s collaboration workflow, enabling users to hand off conversations without exposing credentials. If left unpatched, the flaw could have been weaponised for large‑scale credential theft, data exfiltration or the insertion of malicious prompts that steer AI outputs. Such an attack surface expands the threat landscape for AI services, where compromised sessions could be leveraged to manipulate downstream applications, automate phishing or gain unauthorized access to OpenAI’s internal tools.
OpenAI has not detailed the technical fix, but the incident signals that even widely used convenience features can harbor systemic risks. Observers will watch for a formal security advisory and the rollout of patches across the platform. The episode also raises questions about the adequacy of current bounty tiers for AI‑related vulnerabilities and may prompt other AI firms to reassess their own share‑link implementations. As the industry grapples with rapid model deployment, the next few weeks will reveal how quickly OpenAI can close the gap and whether regulators will push for stricter security standards for generative‑AI services.
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