Definition
Every cloud server has a hidden internal web address (a 'metadata service') that hands out temporary security credentials to the software running on it. Attackers who trick an AI agent into fetching an internal URL — a common flaw in AI tool frameworks — can reach this address and steal those credentials, effectively hijacking the cloud account's permissions.
Why it matters
This single bug pattern has now surfaced across multiple mainstream AI agent frameworks and can turn a minor bug into full cloud-account compromise, making it one of the highest-impact recurring risks in agentic AI deployments.