Security firm Claroc says it found 35,578 Grok-built apps that anyone could open without logging in. That was 94.7 percent of the 37,571 apps the firm checked that were still online. Some contained patient information, plaintext passwords and confidential business documents, including material from Grok maker SpaceXSI.
Grok’s Build mode lets people describe an app in a chat and have the assistant write its code. An app becomes public when its creator publishes it on grok.me. In the paid account Claroc used, “Anyone with the link” was already selected in the publishing dialog. The firm says app names could also be found through searchable passive DNS databases, which record domain names after they are visited.
What was exposed?
Claroc estimates that 650 to 800 apps contained private data. Confirmed examples included an intensive care unit briefing with a patient’s lab values, a hospital group’s list of more than 3,500 employees, and a fire department shift schedule. One timesheet app’s source code contained 18 accounts with passwords stored in plain text. Claroc says about one in ten accessible apps held sensitive, internal or personal information, while roughly 2 percent were especially serious.
The firm also found 24 accessible apps made by SpaceXSI and X employees. They included an onboarding plan with internal system addresses and chat channels, a sales map listing 594 strategic accounts, and confidential advertising proposals. Claroc says it found affected apps at 30 other organizations, including six Fortune 500 companies, but is not naming them.
Two of Claroc’s own test apps had problems beyond public sharing. One had a database that let anonymous visitors add contacts. In another, Grok-generated code added any signed-in visitor to the team before checking whether they belonged there, allowing an outside account to read, edit and delete records. Claroc says it tested writing and deleting only in its own apps.
What happens next?
SpaceXSI said apps remain private until their creators share them, publishing involves several steps and employee accounts default to “Only you.” Claroc says that does not prevent exposure if the final publishing screen still preselects access for anyone with the link. The firm recommends making private access the default and warning users when an app has a database but no login.
SpaceXSI has taken its 24 employee apps offline, but Claroc says other exposed apps remain available. Because the company did not commit to contacting their owners, Claroc says it is notifying them directly. Claroc sells security products for AI-built apps, an interest worth keeping in mind when assessing its findings. The incident follows earlier Grok privacy issues and resembles problems Claroc has reported with sharing features at Meta and Anthropic.
Why it matters
People who publish a Grok-built app could expose its contents even if they expected access to be limited, and some apps may contain personal or business data. SpaceXSI has removed its employees’ apps, but Claroc says other exposed apps remain; it is not clear whether their owners have been notified or whether the access settings will change.
