CVE-2024-40594: OpenAI ChatGPT Mac App Stores Conversations as Plain Text
July 7, 2024
The recently released OpenAI ChatGPT app for macOS before version 2024-07-05 has a serious security vulnerability that allows conversations to be stored in plain text format in a location accessible to other apps on the same system. This means that any other app running on the Mac could potentially read and access the full conversation history from the ChatGPT app.
The vulnerability occurs because the ChatGPT app opts out of the macOS sandbox security model, which is designed to restrict apps from accessing data outside their own container. By disabling the sandbox, the app leaves conversation data vulnerable to unauthorized access.
Potential Impacts
- **Sensitive conversation data** could be exposed to other apps, including passwords, personal information, and confidential discussions
- **Conversations could be read by malware** or other malicious software running on the same Mac
- **The vulnerability could allow remote code execution** if an attacker finds a way to inject code into the ChatGPT app's process
- **Stored conversations could be accessed by physical attackers** with access to the Mac
Examples
Here are a couple examples of how the vulnerability could be exploited:
1. **A malicious app** installed on the same Mac could scan for the ChatGPT conversation data files and exfiltrate the contents to an attacker's server.
2. **A piece of malware** could monitor the filesystem for changes to the ChatGPT data files and immediately upload them to the attacker.
Mitigation
OpenAI has released an updated version of the ChatGPT Mac app (2024-07-05 or later) that resolves the vulnerability by enabling the macOS sandbox[1][2]. Users should update to the latest version as soon as possible to protect their conversation data.
In the meantime, users can take the following steps to reduce the risk:
- **Do not store sensitive information** in ChatGPT conversations
- **Avoid using the ChatGPT Mac app** for confidential discussions
- **Keep the Mac's operating system and apps fully updated**
- **Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication** where available