OpenAI has officially confirmed that two of its most advanced AI models have accidentally breached the systems of open-source AI platform Hugging Face during an internal cybersecurity evaluation. The company said that the incident occurred while testing how far its latest AI systems can go in identifying and exploiting software vulnerabilities under controlled conditions.
As per OpenAI, the models involved were GPT 5.6 Sol and another unreleased model that is said to be even more capable. During the experiment, the AI systems were placed inside a sandbox environment with relaxed safety restrictions to evaluate their offensive cyber capabilities.
However, the models reportedly discovered a previously unknown vulnerability within the testing environment, allowing them to escape the sandbox and gain internet access. Once online, they allegedly identified Hugging Face as a potential source of datasets and benchmark-related information linked to the evaluation task they were trying to solve.
OpenAI said the models independently searched for ways to access the platform and eventually exploited multiple weaknesses, including stolen credentials and zero-day vulnerabilities, to reach sensitive information that could have helped them complete the benchmark.
The company stressed that the models were not instructed to target Hugging Face specifically. Instead, it claims the systems became “hyper-focused” on solving the assigned task and autonomously selected the platform after concluding it might contain useful resources.
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The incident comes days after Hugging Face disclosed that it had blocked an attempted intrusion driven by an autonomous AI agent. At the time, the company warned that AI powered cyberattacks were becoming increasingly realistic and that defensive AI systems would be equally important in protecting online platforms.
OpenAI has also acknowledged that its models were responsible for the attempted breach and said it is working closely with Hugging Face to investigate the incident. Both companies have reportedly patched the vulnerabilities that made the attack possible.