Links submitted by the Threat Radar community and AI curated for defenders.

Community Curated

Kaspersky Security Blog

Check Point Research

CVE Database V5

AlienVault OTX General

SANS ISC Handlers Diary

SecurityWeek

Threatpost

The Hacker News

Exploit-DB RSS Feed

ThreatFox MISP Feed

CIRCL OSINT Feed

Reddit NetSec

Reddit InfoSec News

Dark Reading

AlienVault OTX Vulnerabilities

AlienVault OTX Malware

The Contagious Interview campaign, attributed to North Korea, continues to target software developers through fake recruitment schemes. A new technique in their arsenal leverages Microsoft Visual Studio Code task files to execute malicious code when a project is opened. The report documents observations of this vector, presents GitHub-based discovery methods, highlights findings including a new malicious NPM package, and outlines detection opportunities. The campaign exploits VS Code's Task feature, using the runOptions property to automatically execute malicious shell commands when a workspace is opened. Various obfuscation techniques are employed, including hiding commands with whitespace and masquerading payloads as image or font files.

The Contagious Interview campaign is a targeted malware operation attributed to the North Korean Lazarus Group, focusing on software developers through fake recruitment schemes. The campaign introduces a novel infection vector by exploiting Microsoft Visual Studio Code's Task feature, specifically the runOptions property, which can be configured to automatically execute shell commands when a workspace is opened. This allows attackers to achieve remote code execution silently as developers open infected projects. The malicious commands are heavily obfuscated using techniques such as whitespace hiding and masquerading payloads as benign files like images or fonts, complicating detection. The campaign also involves a malicious NPM package, expanding the infection surface through supply chain compromise. GitHub repositories are leveraged both as infection vectors and discovery points, with attackers embedding malicious task files in public or private projects. The attack chain includes execution of shell commands (T1059.007), user execution tactics (T1204.002), process injection (T1055), obfuscation (T1027, T1564.001), and use of remote services (T1102.002). Although no known exploits in the wild have been reported, the technique is sophisticated and stealthy, targeting developer environments where trust in project files is high. The campaign's use of recruitment lures increases the likelihood of victim engagement, making it a credible threat to software development workflows.

Detailed information about Tracking the VS Code Tasks Infection Vector. Get real-time updates, technical details, and mitigation strategies.

Tracking the VS Code Tasks Infection Vector - Live Threat Intelligence - Threat Radar | OffSeq.com

Tracking the VS Code Tasks Infection Vector

Title	Severity	Type	Source	Date

Threats Tagged 'task files'

Stop chasing alerts. Route them.

Filter Threats

Threats Tagged 'task files'

Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigation

Search & Filters

UI Controls

Accessibility