Open Source
Malicious Rust packages on Crates.io steal crypto wallet keys
Two malicious packages with nearly 8,500 downloads in Rust’s official crate repository scanned developers’ systems to steal cryptocurrency private keys and other secrets. Rust crates are distributed through a central registry at Crates.io, the equivalent of npm for JavaScript, PyPI for Python, and Ruby Gems for Ruby. The malicious crates, named faster_log and async_println, were published on the platform on […]
GitHub tightens npm security with mandatory 2FA, access tokens
GitHub is introducing a set of defenses against supply-chain attacks on the platform that led to multiple large-scale incidents recently. Notable cyberattacks that started from compromising GitHub repositories and then spread to NPM include the “s1ngularity” attack in late August, the “GhostAction” campaign in early September, and the worm-style campaign dubbed “Shai-Hulud” from last week. The […]
NPM package caught using QR Code to fetch cookie-stealing malware
Newly discovered npm package ‘fezbox’ employs QR codes to retrieve cookie-stealing malware from the threat actor’s server. The package, masquerading as a utility library, leverages this innovative steganographic technique to harvest sensitive data, such as user credentials, from a compromised machine. QR codes find yet another use case While 2D barcodes like QR codes have conventionally been designed […]
New EDR-Freeze tool uses Windows WER to suspend security software
A new method and proof-of-concept tool called EDR-Freeze demonstrates that evading security solutions is possible from user mode with Microsoft’s Windows Error Reporting (WER) system. The technique eliminates the need of a vulnerable driver and puts security agents like endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools into a state of hibernation. By using the WER framework together […]
60 malicious Ruby gems downloaded 275,000 times steal credentials
Sixty malicious Ruby gems containing credential-stealing code have been downloaded over 275,000 times since March 2023, targeting developer accounts. The malicious Ruby gems were discovered by Socket, which reports they targeted primarily South Korean users of automation tools for Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, Telegram, Naver, WordPress, and Kakao. RubyGems is the official package manager for the […]
CISA open-sources Thorium platform for malware, forensic analysis
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today announced the public availability of Thorium, an open-source platform for malware and forensic analysts across the government, public, and private sectors. Thorium was developed in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories as a scalable cybersecurity suite that automates many tasks involved in cyberattack investigations, and can schedule over 1,700 jobs […]
npm ‘accidentally’ removes Stylus package, breaks builds and pipelines
npm has taken down all versions of the real Stylus library and replaced them with a “security holding” page, breaking pipelines and builds worldwide that rely on the package. A security placeholder webpage is typically displayed when malicious packages and libraries are removed by the admins of npmjs.com, the world’s largest software registry primarily used for JavaScript and Node.js development. But that […]
Popular npm linter packages hijacked via phishing to drop malware
Popular JavaScript libraries were hijacked this week and turned into malware droppers, in a supply chain attack achieved via targeted phishing and credential theft. The npm package eslint-config-prettier, downloaded over 30 million times weekly, was compromised after its maintainer fell victim to a phishing attack. Other packages, namely eslint-plugin-prettier, synckit, @pkgr/core, and napi-postinstall from the same maintainer, were also targeted. The attacker(s) used stolen […]
North Korean XORIndex malware hidden in 67 malicious npm packages
North Korean threat actors planted 67 malicious packages in the Node Package Manager (npm) online repository to deliver a new malware loader called XORIndex to developer systems. The packages collectively count more than 17,000 downloads and were discovered by researchers at package security platform Socket, who assess them to be part of the continued Contagious Interview operation. Socket researchers […]
Microsoft open-sources VS Code Copilot Chat extension on GitHub
Microsoft has released the source code for the GitHub Copilot Chat extension for VS Code under the MIT license. This provides the community access to the full implementation of the chat-based coding assistant, including the implementation of “agent mode,” what contextual data is sent to large language models (LLMs), and the design of system prompts. The GitHub repository […]