Claude Desktop Hit by Critical RCE Flaws Allowing Remote Code Execution

Security researchers have found three official Claude Desktop extensions—Chrome, iMessage, and Apple Notes connectors—developed and published by Anthropic that share a critical remote code execution flaw tied to unsanitised command injection. The affected extensions, which together exceed 350,000 downloads, run unsandboxed with full system permissions, making them capable of reading files, executing commands, and accessing credentials.

According to Anthropic, the vulnerabilities are high-severity with a CVSS score of 8.9 and have since been patched. The flaw arises from user input being passed directly into AppleScript commands without sanitisation or escaping, enabling an attacker to inject arbitrary AppleScript commands via crafted URLs or web content and potentially compromise the victim’s machine.

Exploitation could occur through prompt injection when Claude fetches web pages to answer questions, with attackers able to embed malicious instructions on attacker‑controlled pages. This incident serves as a reminder that even trusted developers can introduce serious security flaws that put enterprise systems at risk.