Vibe Check: False Packages a New LLM Security Risk?
1 min read
Summary
Researchers at the US tech firm USTA have found a potential vulnerability in the use of large language models (LLMs) for “vibe coding”, which could result in a security breach.
The team found that LLMs were “hallucinating” plausible-sounding gibberish, especially when used for vibe coding, a coding approach that prioritises the vibe or feeling of a project over its code logic and functionality.
When vibe coding, an LLM might generate code to use a plausible-sounding, but totally made-up package, which could be exploited by bad actors to add malicious code that could be deemed as a “fake package”, warns the report.
Researchers suggest the only mitigation strategy is for programmers to check all code generated by LLMs and ensure the integrity and security of their code and libraries.
Nevertheless, the paper concludes that describing AI misinterpretation as “bullshit” is both more useful and more accurate than describing it as “hallucination”.
