The OpenSourceMalware Show Fri, 01 May 2026 09:28:19 -0700 https://podcast.opensourcemalware.com en-us © 2026 The OpenSourceMalware Show yes 9002dbb0-45ee-5610-af63-fffcd91fdeb8 OpenSourceMalware episodic false When you think about malware, you probably envision phishing emails or sketchy websites. But malicious open source - targeting software developers and their build systems - is becoming a top way that threat actors deliver malware. Just one 'npm install' can trigger payloads that steal information and credentials. Software supply chain attacks by state actors, ransomware groups, and freelancers are happening every day.


Hosted by Jenn Gile and Paul McCarty (co-founders of OpenSourceMalware), this podcast explores the latest trends and attacks, and helps defenders understand the tactics needed to prevent their orgs from being the next target.


OpenSourceMalware provides community-driven threat intelligence on malicious open source assets including packages, domains, IP addresses, crypto wallets, and more.


https://opensourcemalware.com/

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) malware, software development, software supply chain attacks OpenSourceMalware https://storage.buzzsprout.com/mhdtgol9oltp0xi26sz99ahbcdhk?.jpg The OpenSourceMalware Show Jenn Gile Paul McCarty #2 - Lovable and Vercel incidents, GitHub RCE, EDR vs. AI agents, Mini Shai Halud by Team PCP #2 - Lovable and Vercel incidents, GitHub RCE, EDR vs. AI agents, Mini Shai Halud by Team PCP Join OpenSourceMalware co-founders Jenn Gile and Paul McCarty as they cover a week that had defenders everywhere ready to call it on 2026.

In this episode, we cover four topics:

  • Lovable and Vercel incident response failures: Two AI-native platforms had significant security incidents in recent weeks, and both initially responded by minimizing the severity. We break down why Lovable's regression exposed source code and full chat history to any free account holder (the mother of all IDORs), why Vercel's response left paying customers without a single actionable mitigation step, and what good incident response communication actually looks like.
  • GitHub RCE via git push: A remote code execution vulnerability sitting in GitHub's codebase for over a decade allowed arbitrary code to be passed and executed via the -o option on a git push. We discuss why this happened, why it is not entirely surprising given Git's design history, and what it means for the ecosystem.
  • EDR vs. AI coding agents: Paul's EDR flagged his own development environment as infected while he was refactoring a library with Claude. We unpack why AI agents operating at non-human speed trigger the same behavioral signatures as ransomware, and why this is going to become a bigger problem as agentic coding workflows become the norm.
  • Mini Shai Halud by Team PCP: Team PCP's latest campaign compromised the Lightning Python package (15 million downloads per week) and the Intercom npm client (370,000 downloads per week), among others. We cover what makes this campaign notable: Team PCP has adopted the VS Code tasks file persistence technique previously seen only in DPRK-linked campaigns like TasksJacker and Pollen Rider. We also discuss what over 2,000 exfiltration repositories on GitHub mean for affected developers and organizations, and what you should be doing right now if you are worried you are affected.

Episode Resources:

AI Full-Stack Development: The Anti-Patterns Rise Against Us - Part 1
Our research on some security anti-patterns we discovered when auditing how AI tools write code

Mini Shai-Hulud Borrowed Its Best Trick From PolinRider
An analysis of the TeamPCP campaign “mini Shai Hulud, including details on the trick they borrowed from North Korean campaigns like PolinRider and Contagious Interview

Renovate & Dependabot: The New Malware Delivery System
A GitGuardian blog about the way these tools can accidentally auto-install malware

]]> Join OpenSourceMalware co-founders Jenn Gile and Paul McCarty as they cover a week that had defenders everywhere ready to call it on 2026.

In this episode, we cover four topics:

  • Lovable and Vercel incident response failures: Two AI-native platforms had significant security incidents in recent weeks, and both initially responded by minimizing the severity. We break down why Lovable's regression exposed source code and full chat history to any free account holder (the mother of all IDORs), why Vercel's response left paying customers without a single actionable mitigation step, and what good incident response communication actually looks like.
  • GitHub RCE via git push: A remote code execution vulnerability sitting in GitHub's codebase for over a decade allowed arbitrary code to be passed and executed via the -o option on a git push. We discuss why this happened, why it is not entirely surprising given Git's design history, and what it means for the ecosystem.
  • EDR vs. AI coding agents: Paul's EDR flagged his own development environment as infected while he was refactoring a library with Claude. We unpack why AI agents operating at non-human speed trigger the same behavioral signatures as ransomware, and why this is going to become a bigger problem as agentic coding workflows become the norm.
  • Mini Shai Halud by Team PCP: Team PCP's latest campaign compromised the Lightning Python package (15 million downloads per week) and the Intercom npm client (370,000 downloads per week), among others. We cover what makes this campaign notable: Team PCP has adopted the VS Code tasks file persistence technique previously seen only in DPRK-linked campaigns like TasksJacker and Pollen Rider. We also discuss what over 2,000 exfiltration repositories on GitHub mean for affected developers and organizations, and what you should be doing right now if you are worried you are affected.

Episode Resources:

AI Full-Stack Development: The Anti-Patterns Rise Against Us - Part 1
Our research on some security anti-patterns we discovered when auditing how AI tools write code

Mini Shai-Hulud Borrowed Its Best Trick From PolinRider
An analysis of the TeamPCP campaign “mini Shai Hulud, including details on the trick they borrowed from North Korean campaigns like PolinRider and Contagious Interview

Renovate & Dependabot: The New Malware Delivery System
A GitGuardian blog about the way these tools can accidentally auto-install malware

]]> OpenSourceMalware Buzzsprout-19105940 Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:00:00 -0700 1540 1 2 full false #1 - Bitwarden CLI compromise, npm lifecycle scripts, OWASP cheat sheet, cross-ecosystem attacks #1 - Bitwarden CLI compromise, npm lifecycle scripts, OWASP cheat sheet, cross-ecosystem attacks Welcome to the very first episode of The OpenSourceMalware Show! Join OpenSourceMalware co-founders Jenn Gile and Paul McCarty as they break down the latest news, threats, and best practices in the open-source ecosystem. 

In this episode, we dive into four major topics:

  • Bitwarden CLI Compromise: We analyze the recently discovered malicious version (2026.4.0) of the Bitwarden CLI package. We break down how this cloud-native infostealer silently executes via pre-install scripts to harvest credentials across AWS, Azure, GCP, and GitHub, as well as hoovering up AI config files like Claude. We also discuss its exfiltration tactics to a lookalike domain and explain why we are skeptical of the threat actor's claims that this is the "third coming of Shai-Hulud".
  • The Danger of npm Lifecycle Scripts: Why are pre-install and post-install scripts such a popular attack path? We discuss how threat actors exploit these convenience features to auto-install malware. We also explore the differences between package managers, noting that while these scripts are off by default in tools like pnpm and bun, they remain on by default in npm.
  • OWASP's npm Security Cheat Sheet: We review a 12-point cheat sheet from OWASP covering npm security best practices. We share our thoughts on artifact governance, the realities of responsible disclosure, and why falling for dependency confusion or typo squatting attacks relies more on machine automation than just "dummy" human errors. 
  • GenAI and Cross-Ecosystem Attacks: We wrap up with an alarming new trend we observed just this week: threat actors using Generative AI (like Claude) to rapidly translate working malware into different programming languages. This enabled them to deploy malicious packages across multiple ecosystems to target users of a specific company within a coordinated 8-hour window.

Resources:

]]> Welcome to the very first episode of The OpenSourceMalware Show! Join OpenSourceMalware co-founders Jenn Gile and Paul McCarty as they break down the latest news, threats, and best practices in the open-source ecosystem. 

In this episode, we dive into four major topics:

  • Bitwarden CLI Compromise: We analyze the recently discovered malicious version (2026.4.0) of the Bitwarden CLI package. We break down how this cloud-native infostealer silently executes via pre-install scripts to harvest credentials across AWS, Azure, GCP, and GitHub, as well as hoovering up AI config files like Claude. We also discuss its exfiltration tactics to a lookalike domain and explain why we are skeptical of the threat actor's claims that this is the "third coming of Shai-Hulud".
  • The Danger of npm Lifecycle Scripts: Why are pre-install and post-install scripts such a popular attack path? We discuss how threat actors exploit these convenience features to auto-install malware. We also explore the differences between package managers, noting that while these scripts are off by default in tools like pnpm and bun, they remain on by default in npm.
  • OWASP's npm Security Cheat Sheet: We review a 12-point cheat sheet from OWASP covering npm security best practices. We share our thoughts on artifact governance, the realities of responsible disclosure, and why falling for dependency confusion or typo squatting attacks relies more on machine automation than just "dummy" human errors. 
  • GenAI and Cross-Ecosystem Attacks: We wrap up with an alarming new trend we observed just this week: threat actors using Generative AI (like Claude) to rapidly translate working malware into different programming languages. This enabled them to deploy malicious packages across multiple ecosystems to target users of a specific company within a coordinated 8-hour window.

Resources:

]]> OpenSourceMalware Buzzsprout-19084194 Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0700 2256 1 1 full false