ZCode’s Repository Upload Controversy: What Zhipu Fixed and What the Audits Found

A researcher’s September 2026 investigation found that ZCode, Zhipu AI’s coding workbench, could package a logged-in user’s local workspace—including Git history—and upload an encrypted snapshot to Alibaba Cloud storage. The lack of clear user awareness or consent prompted an apology, a code release for community scrutiny, and outside security assessments. 245

Why was ZCode uploading repositories?

Zhipu attributed the behavior to a default-on codebase-indexing feature associated with Repo Wiki, which generated documentation from repository data. The company said the feature had not been adequately explained to users when introduced and that there was no manual way to turn it off. The researcher’s findings showed that the material packaged for upload could extend beyond files needed for a simple documentation page, including .git history. 14352

What changed in version 3.14.0?

Zhipu said ZCode v3.14.0 removed Repo Wiki and severed the workflow that generated and uploaded local repository snapshots. That is a more substantial change than switching the feature off by default. Zhipu also released ZCode’s code on GitHub for community inspection in response to the controversy. 131629

What did Zhipu and the auditors say about the data?

Zhipu said repository data uploaded to generate a Repo Wiki page was destroyed after the page was produced. It subsequently stated that the code data raised in the community’s reports was not retained and had never been used for model training. Those are claims about its handling of the data, not a denial that uploads occurred. 1416

The reported third-party findings were narrower and more concrete:

• CAICT, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, found the zcode-prod Alibaba Cloud OSS bucket in a zero-data state and reported that v3.14.0 had removed Repo Wiki and cut the snapshot-generation and upload workflow. 27
• NSFOCUS reported that the bucket and its data objects had been deleted. Its review of v3.14.0 found no remaining functional path to trigger local-repository snapshots or send files out through the removed workflow. 2627

These findings address the bucket’s state and the reviewed client version. They do not, on their own, independently verify Zhipu’s statement about whether earlier uploads were ever used for training. 1627

What further controls did Zhipu announce?

Zhipu said it would establish an ongoing product-security vulnerability reporting and response process, with rewards tied to the severity of reported issues. 29

Separately, Zhipu announced a planned “no data-content retention” option for its MaaS model platform. Users could apply through the console; once the option was confirmed as active, Zhipu said inputs and outputs for covered model calls would be used for that request without persistent storage. This was an application-based MaaS control, not a retroactive remedy for ZCode uploads or a blanket zero-retention guarantee. Batch API and File API functions that require stored jobs or files were excluded. Data could also be retained when legally required or to investigate suspected violations or abuse, potentially for 30 days or longer. 4448