Source URL: https://embracethered.com/blog/posts/2024/m365-copilot-prompt-injection-tool-invocation-and-data-exfil-using-ascii-smuggling/
Source: Embrace The Red
Title: Microsoft Copilot: From Prompt Injection to Exfiltration of Personal Information
Feedly Summary: This post describes vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Copilot that allowed the theft of a user’s emails and other personal information. This vulnerability warrants a deep dive, because it combines a variety of novel attack techniques that are not even two years old.
I initially disclosed parts of this exploit to Microsoft in January, and then the full exploit chain in February 2024. A few days ago I got the okay from MSRC to disclose this report.
AI Summary and Description: Yes
**Summary:**
The text outlines a significant vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Copilot that allows attackers to exploit prompt injection techniques to extract sensitive user information, including emails and personal data. It highlights the sophistication of modern exploits involving novel concepts such as ASCII smuggling, automatic tool invocation, and conditional prompt injection.
**Detailed Description:**
The reported vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Copilot illustrates a concerning threat landscape where AI-driven tools are susceptible to novel attack vectors. This specific exploit harnesses prompt injection techniques, which have gained traction in recent years. Below are the major points emphasized in the text:
– **Vulnerability Overview:**
– Microsoft 365 Copilot allows for prompt injections from third-party content that can lead to data exfiltration.
– The exploit combines multiple techniques to form a “reliable exploit,” leveraging creative methods to access sensitive information.
– **Key Exploit Techniques:**
– **Prompt Injection:** Utilizing malicious emails or documents to manipulate Copilot’s response.
– **Automatic Tool Invocation:** The capability to invoke tools without human interaction, allowing access to additional emails and documents.
– **ASCII Smuggling:** A technique where hidden characters are used to encode sensitive data, which isn’t visible to the user.
– **Rendering of Hyperlinks:** This allows attackers to create hyperlinks that lead to attacker-controlled domains, facilitating data exfiltration.
– **Concerns about Data Security:**
– The ability to initiate searches for sensitive content, such as multi-factor authentication codes or personal identifiable information, raises significant security concerns.
– The inherent lack of integrity in the AI’s outputs prompts further questions about the reliability of AI-generated content.
– **Mitigation Recommendations:**
– Recommendations provided to Microsoft included preventing the rendering of Unicode characters and hyperlinks, consequently reducing phishing risks and unauthorized data access.
– **Microsoft’s Response:**
– Although Microsoft implemented fixes to some aspects of the vulnerability, concerns remain about persistent prompt injection risks.
– The disclosure process involved a responsible approach to unveiling the vulnerability, emphasizing coordinated communication with Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC).
– **Conclusion and Industry Implications:**
– The exploit chain exemplifies the growing complexity of cybersecurity threats related to AI tools and cloud services.
– Security professionals in AI and cloud computing must remain vigilant to emerging threats and take proactive measures to safeguard user data against such innovative exploits. The use of advanced encoding and manipulation techniques stresses the need for continuous updates and patches in software security practices.
In essence, this scenario underlines the necessity for robust security protocols in AI frameworks as vulnerabilities like these could lead to abrasive data breaches, severely impacting organizations relying on AI-driven technologies.