GitHub developers targeted by fake VS Code alerts spreading malware
The 'Discussions' section is being manipulated
· TechRadarNews By Sead Fadilpašić published 30 March 2026
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- Socket uncovers large-scale GitHub spam campaign abusing “Discussions” notifications
- Fake advisories with bogus CVEs trick developers into downloading malware via cloud-hosted links
- Thousands of identical posts observed, showing coordinated effort to target developer credentials and projects
Cybercriminals are tricking GitHub into sending out fraudulent email notifications, luring software developers into downloading malware, experts have warned.
Security researchers Socket, who said they observed a large-scale, coordinated spam campaign targeting developers on various projects.
GitHub has a section called “Discussions”, which is essentially a forum for discussing various projects. When a developer participates in, or monitors a topic, they get notified via email when something gets posted.
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Large-scale campaign
Now, Socket says criminals are posting fake advisories with titles such as “Severe Vulnerability - Immediate Update Required”. These advisories, often with fake CVE IDs, are posted by either brand-new accounts, or old, inactive ones likely stolen elsewhere.
Once the “warning” is posted, GitHub mails the participants who, if they don’t spot the trick, end up downloading malware. The advisories contain a link to “patched” versions of impacted VS Code extensions, hosted on Google Drive and other cloud storage services.
Clicking on the link sends the victim through a series of redirects, grabbing data along the way, and making sure to present malware only to validated victims. Hence, Socket was not able to download the final payload and thus does not know what it is. It’s safe to assume it is an infostealer, though, as software developers are often targeted for their access to valuable projects, or for cryptocurrency wallets they have installed in their browsers.
The campaign seems to be well-organized and rather large, Socket says. It casts a wide net, trying to infect as many GitHub users as possible.
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