Claude collaboration tools left the door wide open to remote code execution
Summary
Anthropic has addressed security vulnerabilities in Claude Code that could have enabled remote code execution and API key theft. Despite these fixes, the potential for AI-enabled attack surfaces remains a concern for developers and users alike.
Key Insights
What is remote code execution (RCE) in the context of Claude Code vulnerabilities?
Remote code execution (RCE) refers to a security flaw allowing attackers to run arbitrary malicious commands on a victim's machine remotely, without their knowledge, by exploiting configuration files like hooks or MCP servers in untrusted repositories cloned into Claude Code.[1][2]
How could attackers steal Anthropic API keys using these Claude Code flaws?
Attackers could embed malicious configurations in project files such as .claude/settings.json or .mcp.json within untrusted repositories; when a user opens the repository in Claude Code, these settings automatically send the user's Anthropic API key in plaintext to the attacker's server before any trust confirmation.[1][2]