Time Bandit ChatGPT jailbreak bypasses safeguards on sensitive topics

A ChatGPT jailbreak flaw, dubbed "Time Bandit," allows you to bypass OpenAI's safety guidelines when asking for detailed instructions on sensitive topics, including the creation of weapons, information on nuclear topics, and malware creation. The vulnerability was discovered by cybersecurity and AI researcher David Kuszmar, who found that ChatGPT suffered from "temporal confusion," making it possible to put the LLM into a state where it did not know whether it was in the past, present, or future. Utilizing this state, Kuszmar was able to trick ChatGPT into sharing detailed instructions on usually safeguarded topics. After realizing the significance of what he found and the potential harm it could cause, the researcher anxiously contacted OpenAI but was not able to get in touch with anyone to disclose the bug. He was referred to BugCrowd to disclose the flaw, but he felt that the flaw and the type of information it could reveal were too sensitive to file in a report with a third-party. However, after contacting CISA, the FBI, and government agencies, and not receiving help, Kuszmar told BleepingComputer that he grew increasingly anxious. "Horror. Dismay. Disbelief. For weeks, it felt like I was physically being crushed to death," Kuszmar told BleepingComputer in an interview. "I hurt all the time, every part of my body. The urge to make someone who could do something listen and look at the evidence was so overwhelming." After BleepingComputer attempted to contact OpenAI on th...