A hacker was quick to pounce on the accidental leak of Anthropic’s AI tool, Claude Code, by spreading malware on a GitHub page that claimed to host the source code.
Cybersecurity vendor Zscaler spotted a hacker exploiting interest in the Claude Code leak to push two malware strains, Vidar and Ghostsocks. Zscaler traced the threat to a GitHub page from the account “idbzoomh,” which purports to offer the leaked source code for Claude Code and claims: “I spent significant effort rebuilding the entire build system from scratch, fixing every compilation error, and making this source snapshot actually work.”
The offer could be tempting to users looking for a copy of the leak, especially since Anthropic has been using copyright takedowns to remove it from GitHub. Idbzoomh’s page even claims the leak has been used to develop “Claude Code Unlocked,” a way to run Anthropic’s AI tool for free, including access to a “jailbreak mode.” That’s different from the actual leak, which only contains a partial source for the AI tool, not model weights or training data.
(Credit: GitHub)
Zscaler says the page will actually serve up a malicious ZIP archive containing both Windows-based malware strains, with Vidar acting as an information stealer, while Ghostsocks can let the hacker use an infected PC as a proxy to route their internet traffic.
The malware infection attempt could trigger security alerts on a PC. So to avoid arousing suspicions, the GitHub page also says: “This application is an experimental tool for Security Research. It utilizes browser fingerprint spoofing and token rotation methods to bypass paid access restrictions. The authors are not responsible for the use of this software.”
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Despite Zscaler’s findings, the malicious Claude Code leak page remains up. GitHub didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In the meantime, Zscaler warns: “Threat actors can (and already are) seeding trojanized versions with backdoors, data exfiltrators, or cryptominers. Unsuspecting users cloning ‘official-looking’ forks risks immediate compromise.”
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Michael Kan
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I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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