First Shai-Hulud Worm Clones Emerge

"The first Shai-Hulud worm clones emerged only days after TeamPCP released the malware's source code on GitHub, Ox Security reports. Shai-Hulud was first used in supply chain attacks against the open source software ecosystem in September 2025, and then again in November, in campaigns that hit hundreds of NPM packages and likely infected thousands of developers."

"The malware was designed to steal credentials, API keys, tokens, and other secrets from the infected machines and use them for self-propagation by injecting itself into the packages maintained by the victims and publishing malicious versions on their behalf. It re-emerged in April, in supply chain attacks attributed to the TeamPCP hacking group, which mounted several campaigns against the open source software community since March, including the Trivy, Bitwarden, Checkmarx, SAP, and TanStack incidents."

"Last week, several repositories containing the Shai-Hulud worm's source code briefly appeared on GitHub, accompanied by an announcement from TeamPCP and BreachForums that encouraged miscreants to use the code in a supply chain challenge. Security researchers promptly warned of a surge in activity associated with the malware following the source code's release, and cybercriminals were quick to adapt the worm and start using it in fresh attacks."

"Dubbed 'chalk-tempalte', the package is a direct clone of the worm, does not use obfuscation, and implements its own command-and-control (C&C) server and private key. "By analyzing the malware's source code, the same patterns from previous Shai-Hulud attacks are immediately recognizable, as expected. This includes uploading stolen credentials to a new GitHub repository," Ox says."

Shai-Hulud worm clones appeared within days after malware source code was published on GitHub. The worm was previously used in supply chain attacks against open source software, targeting hundreds of NPM packages and likely infecting thousands of developers. The malware steals credentials, API keys, tokens, and other secrets, then propagates by injecting itself into packages maintained by victims and publishing malicious versions. It re-emerged in April in campaigns attributed to the TeamPCP hacking group, including incidents involving Trivy, Bitwarden, Checkmarx, SAP, and TanStack. Repositories containing the source code briefly appeared on GitHub with encouragement to use it for supply-chain challenges. Ox Security reported a threat actor published four NPM packages containing infostealer malware, including a direct clone named chalk-tempalte that implements its own command-and-control server and private key.

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