What happened?
A new vulnerability has been disclosed in the AI-coding tool, Cursor, used by Coinbase, potentially leaving it open to significant cyber attacks. This exploit, referred to as the “CopyPasta License Attack,” allows attackers to discreetly inject harmful code into an organization’s entire codebase. The flaw was revealed by cybersecurity firm HiddenLayer and demonstrated in Cursor, revealing the potential for serious security breaches.
Who does this affect?
This vulnerability directly affects Coinbase, whose engineers use the Cursor tool across the board. However, it also impacts other users of similar tools such as Windsurf, Kiro, and Aider, which were found to have the same weaknesses. The broader cybersecurity community, crypto communities, developers and indirectly, clients and users of these platforms will also be affected by this security threat.
Why does this matter?
This vulnerability poses a significant risk to market security and trust, especially considering the growing trend toward AI adoption. With CEO Brian Armstrong’s aim of pushing AI generated code to 50% at Coinbase, any exploit in an AI tool could lead to widespread damage. The possibility of such a large-scale attack handling sensitive data and manipulating critical systems has raised concerns among crypto insiders, developers, and cybersecurity experts.