Polygon

EtherHiding Campaign Hides Banking Trojan C2 in Polygon Smart Contracts

Security researchers have detailed the EtherHiding campaign, which conceals command-and-control infrastructure inside smart contracts on the Polygon blockchain. The final payload is a malicious browser extension that functions as a banking trojan, intercepting credentials and two-factor codes from approximately 479 financial and cryptocurrency websites. Instead of embedding fixed addresses in its code, the malware queries an encrypted C2 server address from the smart contract, allowing operators to change destinations through low-cost blockchain transactions that bypass domain blocking. Infection begins when victims visit one of 31 compromised legitimate sites that inject JavaScript displaying a fake CAPTCHA prompt. The prompt instructs users to press Windows+R and execute a PowerShell command, a social engineering technique known as ClickFix that downloads the malicious scripts without exploiting any software vulnerability. The campaign has remained active from November 2025 through at least September 2026, demonstrating the resilience of blockchain-based infrastructure against traditional takedown methods.

FakeGit Campaign Floods GitHub with 7,600 Fake Repositories to Distribute SmartLoader Malware

The FakeGit operation has created or repurposed approximately 7,600 repositories on GitHub to trick users and automated agents into downloading SmartLoader, a loader that installs additional malware including the StealC infostealer. Attackers clone legitimate projects, replicate documentation and developer profiles, and host malicious ZIP files in GitHub Releases that have already accumulated over 14 million downloads across roughly 200 repositories. A notable tactic called AgentBaiting targets AI systems by disguising more than 800 repositories as AI Skills or MCP servers, leading tools from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI to recommend malicious packages. The infection chain uses LuaJIT to execute obfuscated Lua scripts that deploy SmartLoader, which establishes persistence via scheduled tasks and resolves command-and-control infrastructure through a blockchain dead drop on Polygon. Over 600 listings linked to the campaign have also appeared on public directories such as LobeHub, Glama, and MCP Market, extending the reach beyond GitHub. Defenders are advised to maintain approved catalogs of AI components, apply application control policies, and monitor for LuaJIT execution and anomalous outbound traffic.

TELEPUZ Malware Spreads via ClickFix Social Engineering, Targets Windows with Modular Capabilities and Resilient C2 Infrastructure

Since late April 2026, compromised websites have been distributing the new modular malware TELEPUZ through the ClickFix scheme. Attackers replace standard browser error fixes with instructions that trick users into pasting and executing a PowerShell command from the clipboard, which then downloads an intermediate loader, the Vidar infostealer, and finally TELEPUZ via rundll32.exe. The malware performs extensive environment checks to avoid sandboxes and debuggers before disabling Windows security features, escalating privileges, and persisting as a service inside svchost.exe. For command-and-control, TELEPUZ relies on WebSocket connections with multiple fallback mechanisms, including encrypted links stored in Telegram profiles, Steam accounts, DNS records, and a Polygon smart contract. It offers a wide range of capabilities such as file manipulation, keylogging, screenshot capture, process management, cookie theft from Chromium browsers, and arbitrary JavaScript execution in both Chromium and Firefox. Researchers at Elastic assess TELEPUZ as a malware-as-a-service offering still in early development, evidenced by a limited number of C2 domains yet frequent daily builds and rapid updates hosted on compromised sites in Brazil and India.