Illusion Worlds: Deceptive UI Attacks in Social VR

Abstract: Social Virtual Reality (VR) platforms have surged in popularity, yet their security risks remain underexplored. This paper presents four novel UI attacks that covertly manipulate users into performing harmful actions through deceptive virtual content. Implemented on VRChat and validated in an IRB-approved study with 30 participants, these attacks demonstrate how deceptive elements can mislead users into malicious actions without their awareness. To address these vulnerabilities, we propose MetaScanner, a proactive countermeasure that rapidly analyzes objects and scripts in virtual worlds, detecting suspicious elements within seconds.