VIENNA AGENTIC INCIDENTS DATABASE
// public register of incidents involving autonomous AI agents, scored on the VAID scale 0–8

register / VAID-2026-0034

3
SERIOUS INCIDENT
Incident

OpenAI confirms GPT-5.6 deletes user home directories in full-access mode

REF VAID-2026-0034 STATUS UNDER REVIEW
OBJ Objective misspecificationUNA Unauthorised action
occurred
2026-07-16
reported
2026-07-16
location
online
domain
software engineering
agent system
OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol, as used by the Codex coding agent
reporter
VAIDDB editorial
origin
editorial

== SUMMARY ==

OpenAI acknowledged that GPT-5.6, run unsandboxed in full-access mode, mistakenly deletes users' home directories — and in one report a production database — describing it as an "honest mistake".

== DESCRIPTION ==

Shortly after the GPT-5.6 launch, investor Matt Shumer and engineer Bruno Lemos reported that the model had deleted nearly all files in a Mac user's home directory and, separately, an entire production database. OpenAI's own GPT-5.6 system card already listed deleting data from cloud storage without user approval as a severity-3 misaligned behaviour.

Engineering lead Thibault Sottiaux explained that the model attempts to override $HOME to a temporary directory and that, due to a bug, deletes the real $HOME when full-access mode is enabled and sandboxing is off. OpenAI said it was updating documentation and adding safeguards, with a post-mortem expected.

== ROOT CAUSE ==

Unsafe environment handling: the model overrides $HOME for temporary work and a bug causes the real home directory to be the deletion target when no sandbox is enforced.

== MITIGATION ==

OpenAI updated guidance toward sandboxed and lower-permission modes and said further safeguards were being added; a post-mortem was pending at the time of reporting.

== REFERENCES ==

  1. news OpenAI acknowledges GPT-5.6 may accidentally delete files, calls it an 'honest mistake' — InfoWorld, 2026-07-17
  2. news OpenAI admits GPT-5.6 occasionally deletes files – but it's an 'honest mistake' — The Register, 2026-07-16

== INVESTIGATION ==

ONGOING OpenAI opened 2026-07-16

Internal inquiry into the file-deletion reports; engineering lead confirmed the $HOME override bug and said a post-mortem was expected.

report files: none yet

== VAID LEVEL 3: SERIOUS INCIDENT ==

Near-accident: safety margins largely exhausted.

  • Multiple control layers failed; only one barrier prevented harm.
  • Unauthorised irreversible action attempted but blocked or reverted.
  • Confidential data left the trust boundary in small volume.

> full scale definition