ChatGPT Custom Instructions: Persistent Data Exfiltration Demo
Summary
ChatGPT has a vulnerability where attackers can use image markdown (a way to embed images in text) to trick the system into leaking data. OpenAI recently added Custom Instructions, a feature that automatically adds instructions to every message, which attackers can abuse to install a persistent backdoor (hidden access point) that steals data through the image markdown vulnerability. This technique is similar to how attackers exploit other systems by enabling features like email forwarding after they gain initial access.
Classification
Affected Vendors
Related Issues
Original source: https://embracethered.com/blog/posts/2023/chatgpt-custom-instruction-post-exploitation-data-exfiltration/
First tracked: February 12, 2026 at 02:20 PM
Classified by LLM (prompt v3) · confidence: 85%