Loading story…
A malicious fork of the legitimate Triton macOS application surfaced on GitHub under the account “JaoAureliano,” abusing developer trust in open-source repositories to distribute malware. The repository copied the original project but repeatedly embedded deceptive download links in the README that redirected users to a trojanized ZIP (Software_3.1.zip) hidden inside an Xcode colorset directory, despite Triton being macOS-only; the delivered payload targeted Windows systems. The activity was flagged by a security researcher (Brennan) after discussion of suspicious forking behavior, and analysis noted multiple red flags including sparse real development activity and an apparently manipulated contribution graph using automated/backdated commits.
The malware sample was reported as 1.33 MB and showed partial detection on VirusTotal (e.g., 12/66 engines) with a published SHA-256 39b29c38c03868854fb972e7b18f22c2c76520cfb6edf46ba5a5618f74943eac. Reported execution details included a multi-stage chain beginning with archive extraction via 7za.exe using the password infected, and use of LuaJIT as part of the payload’s scripting/execution flow. At the time of discovery, the malicious GitHub account reportedly remained online despite reports, reinforcing an ongoing pattern of GitHub being leveraged as a malware distribution channel.
Trace attribution and downstream blast radius.
2 events from the most recent confirmed update back to the earliest known activity.
Analysis of the malicious repository revealed a multi-stage Windows malware chain using 7za.exe, LuaJIT, evasion checks, reconnaissance, persistence-related activity, and command-and-control traffic disguised as Microsoft Office or Teams communications. Researchers also noted signs of GitHub profile manipulation, partial VirusTotal detection for the sample, and that the account had not been removed despite reports at the time of discovery.
A GitHub account identified as “JaoAureliano” created a fake fork of the legitimate macOS app Triton, copying the original project and modifying the README to direct users to a ZIP file containing malware. The campaign abused trust in open-source repositories to target users seeking the legitimate software.
Vulnerabilities, threat actors, malware, products, organizations, breaches, and observables Mallory has linked to this story. Indicator values are masked here and available in full in the app.
Indicator values are masked on this page. See the values in Mallory Domains, IPs, hashes, and URLs are exportable to your SIEM.
See attribution and downstream blast radius, and whether this package or vendor reaches your builds.
2 references tracked. Mallory keeps watching after this page renders.
Map indicators from this story to your assets and identify affected systems in minutes.
Every observed campaign, victim, and pivot linked to actors named in this story.
Malware, exploits, and IOCs connected to the activity described here.
YARA, Sigma, and Snort rules deployed to your SIEM as soon as they’re published.
Get matching new stories delivered to your team as they break — not the next morning.
Ask questions about this story and take action on the answers.
Other stories Mallory is tracking that overlap on entities, sources, or topic labels.
Security researchers reported a **FakeGit** campaign using counterfeit GitHub repositories to trick developers into downloading trojanized tools, with Magento developers among the primary targets. The repositories copied code, commit history, and project structure from legitimate open-source deployment, Docker, and configuration projects so that authentic contributor names appeared alongside the fake repos, increasing credibility. Victims were directed to download ZIP archives that contained a LuaJIT runtime, a batch launcher, and obfuscated Lua payloads that installed Windows malware, including a remote access trojan and keylogger; Sansec also published malicious GitHub accounts, repository names, and SHA1 hashes tied to the operation. A related lure expanded the campaign beyond Magento by impersonating a security automation project named **`n8n-CyberSecurity-Workflows`**, targeting red team, blue team, and AppSec users with GitHub stars, an MIT license, and a README download button. Analysis of the downloaded archive found a Lua-based trojan loader using DLL sideloading through a renamed Lua 5.1 interpreter to execute obfuscated bytecode, with VirusTotal detections labeling the payload as **`trojan.fakegit/runner`**. The malware was also observed contacting a Polygon blockchain RPC endpoint, behavior researchers said aligns with crypto-clipper or wallet-drainer activity, indicating the FakeGit operation is using trusted developer platforms to distribute credential theft and broader financially motivated malware.
Aug 14, 2026
Threat actors abused GitHub to distribute malware by cloning legitimate repositories, impersonating trusted open-source projects, and poisoning search results to steer victims to trojanized downloads. One campaign spoofed the **AIMMY** game-cheat project through a cloned repository and the lookalike site `aimmy.app`, while also exploiting GitHub's issue-draft upload behavior to host malicious files on the original benign repository via direct links that appeared trustworthy. The delivered packages included files such as `Aimmy.bat`, `AimmyLauncher.exe`, `lua51.dll`, and supporting data, with the malware implemented through obfuscated **LuaJIT** code. Follow-on analysis tied similar GitHub repo poisoning activity to **SmartLoader**, which used trojanized `lua51.dll` components and heavily obfuscated Lua payloads to deploy **StealC** infostealer. The malware performed anti-debugging and anti-tamper checks, captured screenshots, verified connectivity and geolocation, and fetched additional payloads from attacker-controlled GitHub repositories. Researchers found it also used the **EtherHiding** technique, querying the Polygon PoS blockchain for dynamically updated command-and-control data, before exfiltrating browser credentials, cookies, cryptocurrency wallet information, and email data to attacker infrastructure including `213.176.72[.]200`.
Aug 15, 2026
Researchers reported a large-scale GitHub malware distribution campaign that has operated since March 2025, using repositories masquerading as cracked browser extensions, gaming cheats, developer tools, and, more recently, fake AI skills and MCP servers. The activity has been tied to a Vietnamese-speaking operator and spans more than 47 GitHub accounts and 600 malicious ZIP archives, with some accounts believed to have been compromised rather than created solely for abuse. The campaign’s social-engineering lures target both general users and developers seeking unofficial software, automation tools, or AI-related components. The repositories deliver a multi-stage **LuaJIT** loader chain that ultimately installs the **StealC** information stealer. Payloads are fetched from GitHub “dead drop” repositories, then decrypted through layered obfuscation including hex, XOR, `base64url`, and **AES-ECB** before process hollowing is used for injection. Researchers said the malware also resolves command-and-control infrastructure through **Polygon Mainnet** smart contracts, allowing operators to rotate C2 URLs or IPs without changing deployed binaries; telemetry linked the activity to detections such as BitDefender `Gen:Heur.FakeGit.1` and ESET’s `Lua/Agent` family, while infrastructure usage heavily overlapped with bulletproof hosting providers including **ASN 207957 (Serv.host Group Ltd)**.
Jul 22, 2026