So many comments here refrain, “They should have asked for consent first”. But would not that be detrimental to the research subject? Specifically, stealthily introducing security vulnerabilities. How should a consent request look to preserve the surprise factor? A university approaches you and says, “Would it be okay for us to submit some patches with vulnerabilities for review, and you try and guess which ones are good and which ones have bugs?” Of course you would be extra careful when reviewing those specific patches. But real malicious actors would be so kind and ethical as to announce their intentions beforehand.