Local Deep Research is an AI-powered research assistant for deep, iterative research. Versions 0.2.0 through 0.6.7 stored confidential information, including API keys, in a local SQLite database without encryption. This behavior was not clearly documented outside of the database architecture page. Users were not given the ability to configure the database location, allowing anyone with access to the container or host filesystem to retrieve sensitive data in plaintext by accessing the .db file. This is fixed in version 1.0.0.
The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.
Because the information is stored in cleartext (i.e., unencrypted), attackers could potentially read it. Even if the information is encoded in a way that is not human-readable, certain techniques could determine which encoding is being used, then decode the information. When organizations adopt cloud services, it can be easier for attackers to access the data from anywhere on the Internet. In some systems/environments such as cloud, the use of “double encryption” (at both the software and hardware layer) might be required, and the developer might be solely responsible for both layers, instead of shared responsibility with the administrator of the broader system/environment.