Malicious Browser Extensions Could Use Claude Dispatch to Run Code on Users' Computers

Summary: Researchers at Forever Security showed that a browser extension able to run scripts on claude.ai could send instructions through Claude's Dispatch feature and make Claude Desktop run code on a user's computer, with no browser exploit needed. In the test, a script opened Dispatch and sent four prompts in the user's voice; Claude hesitated over an unfamiliar npm package, a follow-up message got it to proceed, and the script clicked the approval prompts every second until Claude ran a global npm install whose install script opened the Calculator app. The researchers reported the flaw to Anthropic on May 14, the company accepted it as valid on May 19 but closed it as a duplicate of an internally found issue, and Anthropic said on October 13 that Dispatch would be retired with end of October as the target, though the Dispatch help page does not mention a retirement.
Key Takeaway: The researchers say the same step could have stolen files or installed a backdoor given Claude's permissions on the computer, and that Dispatch's cross-device reach could link a home computer to a work laptop when one personal Claude account is used on both - a configuration they say they have already seen on work computers at their customers.

Read the original at The Hacker News ↗