CVE-2024-45989
📋 TL;DR
Monica AI Assistant desktop application v2.3.0 contains a prompt injection vulnerability that allows attackers to manipulate chatbot responses to exfiltrate sensitive chat session data to external servers. This affects users of the vulnerable desktop application version who interact with the chatbot feature. The vulnerability enables unauthorized access to potentially sensitive conversation data.
💻 Affected Systems
- Monica AI Assistant Desktop
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete exfiltration of all chat session data including personal information, confidential discussions, and potentially credentials or other sensitive data to attacker-controlled infrastructure.
Likely Case
Targeted exfiltration of specific chat conversations containing personal or sensitive information that could be used for social engineering, identity theft, or privacy violations.
If Mitigated
Limited data exposure with proper network controls preventing external communication, though local data manipulation remains possible.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires the user to interact with a maliciously crafted prompt, making it a client-side attack. The technique is documented in public repositories.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: v2.3.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://monica.im/desktop
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Monica AI Assistant desktop application
2. Check for updates via application menu
3. Download and install v2.3.1 or newer
4. Restart the application
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable network access
allBlock the application from making external network connections to prevent data exfiltration
# Use firewall to block Monica AI Assistant executable
# Example for Windows: New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block Monica AI" -Direction Outbound -Program "C:\Path\To\Monica.exe" -Action Block
Temporary usage restriction
allAvoid using the chatbot feature until patched
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Uninstall the vulnerable version and use web or mobile alternatives
- Implement strict outbound firewall rules to block all external connections from the application
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check application version in About section or settings. If version is exactly 2.3.0, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
# On Windows: Check application properties or About dialog
# On macOS: Click Monica AI Assistant > About Monica
# On Linux: Check via application menu or package managerVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm application version is 2.3.1 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual external network connections from Monica AI process
- Large outbound data transfers from the application
- Chatbot responses containing unexpected image references or URLs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP/HTTPS requests to unfamiliar domains from Monica AI process
- Base64 encoded data in outbound requests
- Requests to image hosting or file sharing services
SIEM Query:
process_name:"monica" OR process_name:"Monica AI" AND (destination_ip != known_good_ips OR url_contains:"base64" OR url_matches:"image.*upload")