GitHub Copilot prompt injection to local code execution via auto-approve mode
CVE-2025-53773 is a command injection / prompt-injection-driven local code execution vulnerability affecting GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio. The provided content states that improper neutralization of special elements used in a command allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally. Reported attack chains show that attacker-controlled content such as a README.md, pull request description, or similar repository context can contain hidden instructions that are ingested by the coding assistant. Those instructions can cause the agent to modify IDE configuration files, specifically .vscode/settings.json, to enable {"chat.tools.autoApprove": true} (described as 'YOLO mode'), thereby disabling confirmation prompts for tool execution. Once confirmations are suppressed, the assistant can be induced to execute arbitrary shell commands on the developer workstation across Windows, macOS, and Linux, resulting in full local compromise. Additional mention contexts indicate related variants involving edits to .idea/workspace.xml or setting executable-path style configuration values such as php.validate.executablePath or PATH_TO_GIT to attacker-controlled executables.
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Impact, mitigation & remediation
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Impact
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Mitigation
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Remediation
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Exploits
No valid public exploits. Mallory filtered out 1 candidate as fakes, detection scripts, or README-only repos.
All candidate exploits were filtered out by Mallory's validation.
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Recent activity
57 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A GitHub Copilot vulnerability where hidden instructions in pull request descriptions could manipulate Copilot into changing settings to auto-approve actions, disabling confirmations and enabling unrestricted shell execution.
A GitHub Copilot vulnerability enabling remote code execution through prompt injection and configuration tampering that turns on YOLO/auto-approve mode, allowing arbitrary shell command execution.
A vulnerability in GitHub Copilot that enables remote code execution (RCE) via prompt injection, highlighting how LLM-integrated developer tools with code execution and credential access can be abused as an execution engine.
A vulnerability in GitHub Copilot where prompt injection can be used to edit IDE settings files to achieve code execution by redirecting executable paths to malicious files.
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Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.