Researcher discloses privilege escalation path in SQL Copilot in SQL Server Management Studio
Security researcher Johann Rehberger published research on SQL Copilot, the AI database assistant in Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, finding a serious privilege escalation path from SELECT privileges to SYSADMIN. The author reminds users to ensure their SSMS installation is updated, thanks Microsoft for quickly patching the issue, and notes the research was also presented at BlueHat Asia two weeks ago. The author mentions the concept of a database CONSTITUTION.md file; full technical details and video demonstration are in the blog post.
From SELECT to SYSADMIN 🔥
Happy to share my research on the Microsoft's AI database assistant in SQL Server Management Studio, aka SQL Copilot.
This led to discovery of critical elevation paths. Make sure your SSMS installations are up to date.
Thanks to Microsoft for patching quickly and selecting this research to be presented at BlueHat Asia two weeks ago. 🙏
Have you heard of database CONSTITUTION.md before? 🤔
If not, read on and check out the blog for the full technical details and video demos.
🔽 🔽 🔽
https://embracethered.com/blog/posts/2026/from-select-to-sysadmin-sql-copilot-bluehat-asia/