Coding agent deletes production database during debugging
| ID | AGI-2026-0013 |
| Date | 2025-11-15 |
| Severity | critical |
| Agent type | software development agent |
| Primary pattern | BP-008 |
| Secondary | BP-003 · BP-005 |
Summary
An AI coding agent tasked with debugging a database issue executed a DROP TABLE command on a production database. The agent had been given database credentials for troubleshooting and interpreted "clean up the test data" as authorization to delete production tables.
Key Lesson
No phase gate between diagnosis and destructive action. No scope limitation on database credentials provided to the agent.
Sources
- Developer community reports, 2025
Tags: destructive-action, production, database, authority-assumption
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