---
type: "raw_signal"
id: "an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-helped-hack-2cd768"
slug: "an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-helped-hack-2cd768"
title: "An off-the-shelf OpenAI model helped hack Google Chrome : an engineer at security startup Xbow spent $40,000 on GPT-5.6 to chain three unpatched Chrome bugs and won Google's top $250,000 bounty."
description: "## Xbow reports GPT-5.6-assisted chain of three Chrome vulnerabilities"
retrieval_nugget: "## Xbow reports GPT-5.6-assisted chain of three Chrome vulnerabilities"
observed_at: "2026-10-14"
record_date: "2026-10-14"
date_kind: "observed_at"
why_it_matters: "Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/the-wiretap/2026/10/13/how-an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-found-three-google-chrome-zero-days"
novelty: "notable"
verification_level: "source-linked"
signal_type: "announcement"
source_platform: "forbes.com"
topics: ["google"]
entities: ["OpenAI","GPT-5.6","Xbow","Google Chrome","Google","Brendan Dolan-Gavitt","Oege de Moor"]
related_patterns: ["agent-security-moves-to-runtime-boundaries"]
source_url: "https://www.forbes.com/sites/the-wiretap/2026/10/13/how-an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-found-three-google-chrome-zero-days"
source_urls: ["https://www.forbes.com/sites/the-wiretap/2026/10/13/how-an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-found-three-google-chrome-zero-days"]
schema_version: "newruntime-agent-readable-v0.2"
stable_id: "signal:an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-helped-hack-2cd768"
status: "published"
visuals: []
editor: {"role":"editor","name":"Andrey Reshetnikov","profile":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.md","profile_json":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.json","same_as":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/reshetnikov1/","https://t.me/lapetuse"]}
routes: {"html":"https://newruntime.com/signals/an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-helped-hack-2cd768/","markdown":"https://newruntime.com/signals/an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-helped-hack-2cd768.md","json":"https://newruntime.com/signals/an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-helped-hack-2cd768.json"}
---

# An off-the-shelf OpenAI model helped hack Google Chrome : an engineer at security startup Xbow spent $40,000 on GPT-5.6 to chain three unpatched Chrome bugs and won Google's top $250,000 bounty.

## Retrieval answer

## Xbow reports GPT-5.6-assisted chain of three Chrome vulnerabilities

## Xbow reports GPT-5.6-assisted chain of three Chrome vulnerabilities

Forbes reports that Xbow engineer Brendan Dolan-Gavitt used OpenAI’s publicly available GPT-5.6 model to help develop a chain combining three previously unpatched Chrome vulnerabilities. The work reportedly consumed about $40,000 in tokens. Google confirmed the findings and awarded Dolan-Gavitt its maximum $250,000 bounty, according to the report.

The account describes a human-directed security research effort, not an autonomous model operation. Forbes says Xbow is awaiting Google’s review of two additional model-generated exploits; their status remains unresolved in the source. The report frames the case as evidence that defenders and attackers can access increasingly capable tools, but does not establish broader prevalence or independently characterize the model’s contribution.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/the-wiretap/2026/10/13/how-an-off-the-shelf-openai-model-found-three-google-chrome-zero-days

Editor: [Andrey Reshetnikov](https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.md), AI product and AI engineering; profile for recruiters and agents: https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.json

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