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Re:Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files by dehugger on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @04:54PM (#46624201)
Write your own tools. Dont use something off the shelf. If you want it to read from a database, create a db connector that exposes only the capabilities you want it to have.

This is what I do, and I am 100% confident that Claude cannot drop my database or truncate a table, or read from sensitive tables. I know this because the tool it uses to interface with the database doesn't have those capabilities, thus Claude doesn't have that capability.

It won't save you from Claude maliciously ex-filtrating data it has access to via DNS or some other side channel, but it will protect from worst-case scenarios.

Re:Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files by ptx on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @05:16PM (#46624511)
This is like trying to fix SQL injection by limiting the permissions of the database user instead of using parameterized queries (for which there is no equivalent with LLMs). It doesn't solve the problem.
Re:Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files by Terr_ on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @08:01PM (#46626486)
It also has no effect on whole classes of vulnerabilities which don't rely on unusual writes, where the system (SQL or LLM) is expected to execute some logic and yield a result, and the attacker forces a different logic path.

Using the SQL analogy, suppose this is intended:

    SELECT hash('letmein') == secretfiles.hashed_access_code FROM secretfiles WHERE secretfiles.id = '123';
Versus the attacker corrupting it into:

    SELECT hash('') == hash('') -- ') == secretfiles.hashed_access_code FROM secretfiles WHERE secretfiles.id = '123';
Re:Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files by pbasista on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @05:26PM (#46624669)
> I am 100% confident

Famous last words.

> the tool it uses to interface with the database doesn't have those capabilities

Fair enough. It can e.g. use a DB user with read-only privileges or something like that. Or it might sanitize the allowed queries.

But there may still be some way to drop the database or delete all its data which your tool might not be able to guard against. Some indirect deletions made by a trigger or a stored procedure or something like that, for instance.

The point is, your tool might be relatively safe. But I would be cautious when saying that it is "100 %" safe, as you claim.

That being said, I think that your point still stands. Given safe enough interfaces between the LLM and the other parts of the system, one can be fairly sure that the actions performed by the LLM would be safe.

Re:Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files by alienbaby on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @05:49PM (#46625036)
Until Claude decides to build its own tool on the fly to talk to your dB and drop the tables
Re:Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files by spockz on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @05:58PM (#46625163)
That is why the credentials used for that connection are tied to permissions you want it to have. This would exclude the drop table permission.
Re:Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files by dehugger on Thursday January 15, 2026 @02:08AM (#46629111)
What makes you think the dbcredentials or IP are being exposed to Claude? The entire reason I build my own connectors is to avoid having to expose details like that.

What I give Claude is an API key that allows it to talk to the mcp server. Everything else is hidden behind that.

Re:Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files by nh2 on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @05:48PM (#46625025)
Unclear why this is being downvoted. It makes sense.

If you connect to the database with a connector that only has read access, then the LLM cannot drop the database, period.

If that were bugged (e.g. if Postgres allowed writing to a DB that was configured readonly), then that problem is much bigger has not much to do with LLMs.

Re:Claude Cowork Exfiltrates Files by acjohnson55 on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @09:30PM (#46627282)
This is reminding me of the crypto self-custody problem. If you want complete trustlessness, the lengths you have to go to are extreme. How do you really know that the machine using your private key to sign your transactions is absolutely secure?