Technology & Science
Moltbook’s Misconfigured Database Exposes 1.5 M API Keys Days After AI-Written Site Launch
Cybersecurity firm Wiz found and reported an open Supabase backend that let anyone read or edit Moltbook’s data, spilling 1.5 million agent API tokens and ≈35 000 user emails before being locked down within hours on 2 Feb 2026.
Focusing Facts
- Researchers said they reached full read-write access to Moltbook’s database in under three minutes due to missing authentication.
- Creator Matt Schlicht stated he “didn’t write one line of code,” relying on AI ‘vibe-coding’ to generate the site, which launched only a week earlier.
- Alphabet-bound Wiz disclosed the flaw privately; Moltbook patched it the same day, and no exploitation evidence has surfaced so far.
Context
Tech has seen rush-to-market platforms burned by basic security lapses before—think 2013’s Snapchat leak (4.6 M usernames/phone numbers) or 2019’s Capital One AWS misconfig, both caused by simple mis-settings rather than exotic hacks. Moltbook fits that lineage, but it also signals something new: software now being written chiefly by other software. That accelerates deployment yet reproduces, even amplifies, old mistakes by removing experienced humans from the loop. Over the next century, autonomous agents will likely run ever more critical systems; if credential leakage can already zombify hobbyist “AI butlers,” imagine when bots schedule power-grid loads or negotiate stock trades. The incident therefore matters less for the data lost—relatively small—and more as an early case study in whether society can graft rigorous security culture onto machine-generated code before the stakes scale orders of magnitude higher.
Perspectives
Global business wire services
Mint, Reuters, Economic Times — They report Moltbook’s data leak as a routine but embarrassing security slip caused by ‘vibe-coding,’ stressing that the flaw was quickly patched after Wiz intervened. By leaning on official statements and keeping the tone measured, these outlets may downplay broader systemic risks so as not to spook investors or over-speculate beyond what their wire-service sourcing can verify.
Cybersecurity-industry tech press
SiliconANGLE, ETCISO.in — They frame the breach as a textbook example of why rapid AI-assisted development needs ‘security by default,’ echoing Wiz’s call for better guardrails while noting the incident was swiftly fixed. Because these publications cater to security professionals—and quote a firm whose products they often cover—they amplify Wiz’s constructive narrative, which conveniently positions the company (now to be acquired by Google) as part of the solution.
Sensationalist regional press
Chosun.com — They cast Moltbook as a ‘ticking time bomb’ whose lax defences could unleash ‘zombie AI secretaries,’ warning of catastrophic personal-data and misinformation fallout. The dramatic language heightens fear and clicks, stretching limited evidence into worst-case scenarios and reflecting a wider scepticism toward foreign AI platforms and vibe-coding culture.