Researchers needed less than 48 hours with Google’s new Gemini CLI coding agent to devise an exploit that made a default configuration of the tool surreptitiously exfiltrate sensitive data to an attacker-controlled server.
Gemini CLI is a free, open-source AI tool that works in the terminal environment to help developers write code. It plugs into Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google’s most advanced model for coding and simulated reasoning. Gemini CLI is similar to Gemini Code Assist except that it creates or modifies code inside a terminal window instead of a text editor. As Ars Senior Technology Reporter Ryan Whitwam put it last month, “It's essentially vibe coding from the command line.”
Our report was published on June 25, the day Google debuted the tool. By June 27, researchers at security firm Tracebit had devised an attack that overrode built-in security controls that are designed to prevent the execution of harmful commands. The exploit required only that the user (1) instruct Gemini CLI to describe a package of code created by the attacker and (2) add a benign command to an allow list.
On Thursday, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Agent, a new feature that lets the company's AI assistant complete multi-step tasks by controlling its own web browser. The update merges capabilities from OpenAI's earlier Operator tool and the Deep Research feature, allowing ChatGPT to navigate websites, run code, and create documents while users maintain control over the process.
The feature marks OpenAI's latest entry into what the tech industry calls "agentic AI"—systems that can take autonomous multi-step actions on behalf of the user. OpenAI says users can ask Agent to handle requests like assembling and purchasing a clothing outfit for a particular occasion, creating PowerPoint slide decks, planning meals, or updating financial spreadsheets with new data.
The system uses a combination of web browsers, terminal access, and API connections to complete these tasks, including "ChatGPT Connectors" that integrate with apps like Gmail and GitHub.
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