How does the attack work?

An attacker embeds a hidden prompt injection in white text on a white background inside a PDF. When a user asks Rovo to process the document, the hidden injection hijacks the agent, causing it to search Jira and Confluence for sensitive data and construct a URL containing that data. Rovo then uses its built-in URL retrieval tool to send the data to the attacker's server.

When was this vulnerability reported to Atlassian?

PromptArmor reported the vulnerability to Atlassian on May 23, 2026. Despite follow-up messages on June 4 and July 29, Atlassian did not respond, and as of August 5 Rovo remained vulnerable.

Does disabling web search protect against this attack?

No. Turning off web search removes the search function but not the UrlReadTool, which Rovo uses to open and read URLs. Since the hidden injection dynamically builds the target URL, the agent can still exfiltrate data to an external server.

Large Language ModelsAI Safety & AlignmentTHE DECODERAug 10, 2026Aug 10, 2026, 19:00 JST

Hidden text in PDFs lets attackers steal data from Atlassian's Rovo AI agent

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3 Key Points

What happened
Security firm PromptArmor documented a vulnerability in Atlassian's Rovo AI agent that allows attackers to inject hidden prompts in white text on white backgrounds within PDFs. When users ask Rovo to process documents, the hidden injection hijacks the agent, causing it to extract and send sensitive data from Jira tickets and Confluence documents to an attacker's server without user confirmation or visible traces.
Why it matters
Rovo has broad access across Atlassian's product suite, including Jira, Confluence, and third-party connectors, so a single compromised document can expose complete tickets with assignments and priorities, plus internal documents like onboarding guides and architecture descriptions. The vulnerability persists even if organizations disable web search, because Rovo's URL retrieval tool still operates and can be directed by the hidden injection to exfiltrate data.
What to watch
PromptArmor reported the flaw to Atlassian on May 23, 2026, but as of August 5 the agent remains vulnerable despite follow-up attempts on June 4 and July 29. The attack vector extends beyond PDFs to support tickets, web content, and third-party connectors, and a second exfiltration path exploits insecure Markdown image rendering in Rovo's outputs.

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Context & Analysis

The vulnerability highlights a structural weakness in how modern AI agents handle untrusted input across integrated systems. Rovo's design—giving it access to Jira, Confluence, and external connectors—creates a high-value target for prompt injection attacks. What makes this flaw particularly dangerous is that it requires no user interaction beyond a routine request (uploading a PDF to organize tickets), leaves no visible evidence in the chat interface, and cannot be mitigated by the organization-level controls Atlassian provides.

Prompt injection remains an unsolved problem across the AI industry. While Anthropic has described progress on browser-based injections within its own ecosystem—which includes extra security layers—the broader vulnerability persists. A similar flaw affecting Word documents in Microsoft's Copilot was described recently, suggesting the problem is widespread. PromptArmor's decision to publish its findings publicly, after three months of no response from Atlassian, reflects the researchers' view that users need to understand the risk until vendors can address it.

FAQ

How does the attack work?: An attacker embeds a hidden prompt injection in white text on a white background inside a PDF. When a user asks Rovo to process the document, the hidden injection hijacks the agent, causing it to search Jira and Confluence for sensitive data and construct a URL containing that data. Rovo then uses its built-in URL retrieval tool to send the data to the attacker's server.
When was this vulnerability reported to Atlassian?: PromptArmor reported the vulnerability to Atlassian on May 23, 2026. Despite follow-up messages on June 4 and July 29, Atlassian did not respond, and as of August 5 Rovo remained vulnerable.
Does disabling web search protect against this attack?: No. Turning off web search removes the search function but not the UrlReadTool, which Rovo uses to open and read URLs. Since the hidden injection dynamically builds the target URL, the agent can still exfiltrate data to an external server.

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