Researchers Uncover Widespread Data Leakage in Grok Build, Exposing Proprietary Information from SpaceXSI
Security firm Claroc has discovered that Grok Build, the coding platform from SpaceXSI (formerly SpaceX and xAI), is leaking sensitive data from over 35,000 apps, including some proprietary business information from SpaceXSI itself. The data, accessible via shareable links, includes internal business plans, medical exam results, and employee names and ID numbers.
Grok Build is designed to allow users to share their apps with others. However, the platform’s implementation of URL randomization has a critical flaw. By positioning the randomness to the left of the domain, it makes the links easily enumerable through passive DNS services. This means that anyone can generate and access these links, exposing the data stored within the apps.
Claroc’s research found that the exposed data includes:
– Internal business plans and confidential documents
– Ad proposals and medical exam results
– Onboarding plans for new enterprise sales team members
– Sales territory maps and internal system addresses for sales tools
– Detailed advertising proposals
Notably, some of this sensitive information comes from apps developed by SpaceXSI. Claroc identified 24 apps from SpaceXSI that contained confidential information such as an onboarding plan for a new enterprise sales team member and a map of 594 sales accounts.
The company notified SpaceXSI of the privacy issue on Sunday, but received no response. On Tuesday, Claroc publicly disclosed the findings and tagged both Elon Musk and Grok Manager Matt Palmer on X (formerly Twitter) to bring attention to the threat.
As of the time the post was published, 95 percent of the 43,601 links ending in grok.me were public, allowing anyone to access the corresponding app and its data. Grok Build allows users to set link access to “Anyone with the link,” “invited users,” or “only you.” However, Claroc’s tests found that the default setting was always “Anyone with the link,” requiring users to change it manually.
A spokesperson for Cursor, the AI coding service acquired by SpaceXSI, stated that apps are private by default and that other AI coding platforms, such as ChatGPT, Lovable, and Bolt, also provide similar options for link sharing. However, Claroc’s tests showed that users of Grok Build must manually change the default setting.
SpaceXSI has since begun removing the links for the 24 apps from Claroc’s findings, as they now return an “app not found” error. Users are advised to choose the “invite others” option unless they intend to make their apps publicly accessible.
This incident highlights the critical importance of proper data access controls and the potential risks associated with URL sharing mechanisms in development platforms. Companies using shareable links with Grok Build should review and adjust their settings to ensure that sensitive data remains secure.