A set of nine newly discovered vulnerabilities in Google Looker Studio, collectively named “LeakyLooker,” has raised significant concerns across the cybersecurity and cloud computing landscape. The flaws could have enabled attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries, access sensitive data, and manipulate records across Google Cloud environments – all without requiring explicit user permission.
Looker Studio, Google’s cloud-based business intelligence and data visualization platform, is widely used to connect real-time data sources such as BigQuery, Google Sheets, PostgreSQL, and Cloud Storage. Its live data architecture and document-style sharing model, similar to Google Docs, make it highly collaborative – but also introduced critical security risks that attackers could exploit.
The vulnerabilities stem from Looker Studio’s dual authentication models: Owner Credentials and Viewer Credentials. Researchers found that these models created two distinct attack paths. In “zero-click” attacks using Owner Credentials, attackers could trigger server-side requests that execute queries using the report owner’s permissions – without any user interaction. In “one-click” attacks using Viewer Credentials, victims could unknowingly execute malicious SQL queries simply by opening a compromised report link.
Security researchers identified nine vulnerabilities spanning SQL injection, cross-tenant data leaks, and denial-of-service risks. Among the most critical was a zero-click SQL injection flaw that allowed attackers to manipulate BigQuery queries by injecting malicious code into column aliases. By bypassing input filters using SQL comments and encoding techniques, attackers could execute arbitrary queries across an entire Google Cloud project.
Another major issue, known as the “Sticky Credential” flaw, exposed a serious logic vulnerability in Looker Studio’s report duplication feature. When users copied reports connected to external databases such as PostgreSQL or MySQL, the copied version retained the original owner’s stored credentials. This allowed attackers to execute database operations – including reading, modifying, or deleting data – without ever knowing the actual login credentials.
In addition, researchers demonstrated a one-click data exfiltration technique by exploiting Looker Studio’s support for native SQL queries. Attackers could bypass keyword restrictions and use multi-step scripts to extract database schema details and reconstruct sensitive data using publicly accessible logs.
Despite the severity of these findings, there is currently no evidence that the vulnerabilities were exploited in real-world attacks. Google has fully remediated all identified issues following responsible disclosure, deploying patches across its managed infrastructure without requiring customer action.
However, security experts emphasize that organizations should remain vigilant. Recommended best practices include auditing access permissions for all Looker Studio reports, reviewing active data source connections, and treating business intelligence tools as part of the broader attack surface.
As organizations increasingly rely on cloud-based analytics platforms and AI in cybersecurity for data-driven decision-making, the LeakyLooker vulnerabilities highlight the importance of secure data integration, robust access controls, and continuous monitoring in modern digital ecosystems.
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