Malicious and High-Risk AI-Powered Chrome Extensions Enable Account Hijacking and Phishing
Security researchers reported multiple risks tied to AI-themed browser extensions in the Chrome/Edge ecosystem, including active malicious campaigns. Malwarebytes identified 16 malicious extensions (15 Chrome, 1 Edge) masquerading as ChatGPT “enhancers” that steal ChatGPT session tokens, enabling attackers to take over accounts and access conversation history and metadata; the extensions also exfiltrate additional telemetry (e.g., extension version/language and usage details) to help attackers profile victims and maintain longer-term access.
Separately, Varonis described a new malware-as-a-service offering called “Stanley” that claims to reliably get phishing-capable Chrome extensions through Chrome Web Store review, using full-screen iframe overlays to present attacker-controlled login pages while the address bar continues to show the legitimate domain; it also advertises auto-install support across Chrome/Edge/Brave, a management panel, geo/IP targeting, and frequent C2 polling. In parallel with these overtly malicious cases, an Incogni study of 442 AI-powered Chrome extensions found broad privacy and security exposure from over-privileged extensions (e.g., script injection and deep page access) and extensive data collection (52% collecting user data), highlighting that even popular tools (e.g., Grammarly and QuillBot) can present significant privacy risk due to the scope of permissions and data categories collected.
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