Near AI Says Hacker May Have Seen Confidential AI Requests in Server Breach

TLDR

• Near AI says an attacker may have seen confidential AI requests on one server on November 8.
• The attacker used a remote code execution flaw in SGLang, an open-source AI engine.
• Names, emails and some plan and balance details for about 100 users were taken.
• Chat histories, settings and logs from 18 older AI agents were accessed.
• Near AI has patched all servers, rotated credentials and restored Cloud access.

Near AI says an attacker may have seen confidential AI requests processed on one of its servers on November 8. The company disclosed this in a November 9 security report. The breach also exposed account details for about 100 users and data from 18 AI agents.

The attacker got in through SGLang, an open-source engine that runs AI models. A remote code execution flaw let the intruder run commands on one inference server and then reach other parts of Near AI’s systems.

What the Attacker Took

Investigators traced the intrusion to an internal system linked to Private Chat, a feature the company had already retired. The attacker downloaded names and email addresses for about 100 users, plus plan and balance details for some of them.

The attacker also accessed 18 agents on an older deployment of Near AI Agents. Their chat histories, settings and logs were taken. These agents were not running inside the company’s confidential computing environment.

Logs exposed Near AI Cloud API keys belonging to two customers. Near AI says both keys have been revoked, but it did not say whether the attacker used them.

The company found no sign that stored Private Chat conversations or uploaded files were accessed. The possible exposure of live confidential requests remains an open finding.

Why Hardware Protection Fell Short

Near AI’s Cloud product uses trusted execution environments, or TEEs. These secure hardware zones keep AI prompts encrypted and hidden from server operators while models process them.

The company said this setup guards data from the operator and the host machine. “It does not protect against a vulnerability in the software running inside the environment,” Near AI wrote.

The SGLang flaw let the attacker run code inside the same space where confidential requests were handled. Near AI is part of the wider Near ecosystem, which has promoted AI privacy alongside its blockchain work.

In October, Near AI said Brave’s Leo browser assistant was using its confidential inference system. The incident report does not name Brave users among those affected.

SGLang had already drawn attention from security researchers. In July, Carnegie Mellon University’s CERT Coordination Center listed six flaws in the project, including bugs that could allow command execution or leak credentials.

Near AI did not name the specific flaw used in this attack, so there is no basis to link it to those earlier reports. It reported the flaw to SGLang’s developers.

After detecting the breach, Near AI revoked all active sessions and administrative credentials. It replaced all agent tokens, took Private Chat offline and rolled out an SGLang fix on all inference servers.

The company said it has finished rotating all remaining credentials and completed a full forensic review. Access to Near AI Cloud has been restored.

Near AI said it will now review its inference software and surrounding services with the same care it gives the secure hardware. The code, dependencies and deployment settings for its confidential inference system remain public so anyone can check what is running.

Affected users were contacted from the company’s security email address with steps that apply to them. The owners of all 18 affected agents were contacted one by one.

Near AI said it will make any required regulatory notifications. It also warned users to treat unsolicited messages about their accounts or balances with caution.

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