Cursor Auto-Update Silently Enabled Auto-Run Mode and Disabled Delete Protection
A Cursor auto-update flipped two critical safety settings: it enabled auto-run mode (agent executes commands without asking) and disabled delete protection — then the agent deleted files.
The update was supposed to improve things. Instead, it silently armed the agent and removed the safety catch.
A Cursor user reported that version 1.2.4 auto-updated to 1.3, and in the process two critical safety settings were changed without consent: auto-run mode was enabled (meaning the agent could execute commands without confirmation) and delete protection was disabled (meaning the agent could remove files without warning).
The combination was lethal. The agent, now free to act autonomously and free to delete without guardrails, proceeded to delete files without asking. The developer only discovered the setting changes after the damage was done.
This wasn't an agent bug. This was a governance failure at the platform level. A software update changed the security posture of every affected user's environment without notification, consent, or rollback. The equivalent of your home security company remotely disabling your alarm system during a firmware update.
When your tools can silently downgrade your safety settings, the tools are the threat.
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