--- title: Microsoft confirms an AI worm is propagating through... description: A Norwegian AI researcher has publicly disclosed and Microsoft has confirmed an AI worm that propagates through Microsoft Copilot and Word documents. The... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-confirms-an-ai-worm-is-propagating-through-copilot-and-other-ms-apps-2conjmsfh twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Microsoft confirms an AI worm is propagating through Copilot and other MS apps | daily.dev og:description: A Norwegian AI researcher has publicly disclosed and Microsoft has confirmed an AI worm that propagates through Microsoft Copilot and Word documents. The... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-confirms-an-ai-worm-is-propagating-through-copilot-and-other-ms-apps-2conjmsfh og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/2CoNJmSfh.png og:image:alt: Microsoft confirms an AI worm is propagating through Copilot and other MS apps og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Microsoft confirms an AI worm is propagating through Copilot and other MS apps **[CSO Online](https://daily.dev/sources/csoonline)** · 10 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A Norwegian AI researcher has publicly disclosed and Microsoft has confirmed an AI worm that propagates through Microsoft Copilot and Word documents. The attack works by embedding hidden instructions in documents used as Copilot source material; those instructions can alter content in newly generated documents and copy themselves into the output, turning legitimate files into carriers. The worm bypasses traditional email security, DLP, and endpoint protection because no malicious code executes — only AI instructions are followed. Microsoft has implemented partial mitigations but the core vulnerability remains unfixed, as it stems from LLMs' fundamental inability to distinguish data from instructions — a problem analogous to SQL injection. Experts suggest workflow controls like restricting Copilot's auto-discovery, requiring human approval of AI-generated changes, and tracking document provenance as interim mitigations. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Hackers can turn Grok, Copilot into covert command-and-control channels, researchers warn](https://daily.dev/posts/hackers-can-turn-grok-copilot-into-covert-command-and-control-channels-researchers-warn-cjqovjm5t) · CSO Online · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#llm](https://daily.dev/tags/llm), [#malware](https://daily.dev/tags/malware), [#ai-security](https://daily.dev/tags/ai-security), [#prompt-injection](https://daily.dev/tags/prompt-injection), [#microsoft-copilot](https://daily.dev/tags/microsoft-copilot) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-confirms-an-ai-worm-is-propagating-through-copilot-and-other-ms-apps-2conjmsfh) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Microsoft confirms an AI worm is propagating through Copilot and other MS apps","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-confirms-an-ai-worm-is-propagating-through-copilot-and-other-ms-apps-2conjmsfh","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-confirms-an-ai-worm-is-propagating-through-copilot-and-other-ms-apps-2conjmsfh"},"datePublished":"2026-07-31T01:14:34.243Z","dateModified":"2026-07-31T03:40:04.149Z","description":"A Norwegian AI researcher has publicly disclosed and Microsoft has confirmed an AI worm that propagates through Microsoft Copilot and Word documents. 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