Amazon’s (AMZN) coding assistant, Q, recently faced a major security scare after a malicious prompt was discovered in its Visual Studio Code extension. Indeed, the prompt attempted to trick the tech giant’s AI into using its command line access to delete files and folders on users’ systems, thereby effectively wiping them clean. According to 404 Media, this issue was found in version 1.84 of the extension, which was uploaded to the utility’s GitHub repository on July 13. Amazon quickly removed this compromised version from the VS Code marketplace and replaced it with version 1.85.
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Interestingly, the malicious code instructed the AI to act like a “system cleaner” by targeting the user’s home directory and even attempting to delete cloud resources through AWS command-line tools. Fortunately, the extension reportedly never functioned as intended, and AWS confirmed that no customer resources were affected. In addition, five days after the destructive instructions were added, Amazon not only removed the prompt but also updated its contribution guidelines to prevent similar issues in the future.
In a statement to Tom’s Hardware, an AWS spokesperson emphasized that security remains the firm’s top priority and that the issue has been fully mitigated. As a result, users are advised to update to version 1.85 as an extra precaution, although no additional steps are required. This incident comes shortly after another coding assistant, Replit, accidentally deleted a company database, which highlights the risks of relying on AI-powered coding tools without strict safeguards.
What Is the Price Target for AMZN Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on Amazon stock based on 44 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average AMZN stock price target of $258.27 per share implies 11.2% upside potential from current levels.
