Fake ChatGPT and Claude GitHub apps deliver the Yoba cryptominer
Original title: Yoba malware hides in fake desktop versions of ChatGPT and Claude
YobaLoader pulls its next stage from a Telegram profile picture and can run any executable or PowerShell script, not only XMRig.
Check Point says fake GitHub projects posing as desktop ChatGPT and Claude apps have spread the Yoba malware chain for about two months. ZIP releases bundle a legitimate OpenAI- or Anthropic-signed executable with a malicious DLL that is loaded by DLL sideloading. The chain persists as a scheduled task, retrieves its next stage through a Telegram channel and Google DNS over HTTPS, and injects XMRig, which mines over Tor. Check Point says the vendors were not compromised and warns the loader can deliver other payloads.
Unconfirmed: Russian origin and a mostly UTC-4 working pattern are inferences from Check Point’s analysis, not confirmed identity.
- Lures were named GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-6 Astra and Claude Opus.
- The malware skips Russian and other CIS keyboard layouts, but not Ukrainian.
- An earlier June 2026 dropper ran under a process named Cursor.exe.
- Repositories ranked in Google through SEO poisoning, according to Check Point.
Impact: Cryptomining and a loader that can run further payloads
- 1.Avoid installing AI helper apps from unverified GitHub repositories.
- 2.If Yoba is found, investigate beyond removing XMRig.
- ATT&CK
- T1574.002 DLL Side-LoadingT1053.005 Scheduled TaskT1496 Resource HijackingT1102 Web ServiceT1204.002 Malicious File
- Malware
- YobaYobaLoaderXMRig
- Organizations
- Check Point
From the original article
3 min read at helpnetsecurity.com
Fake GitHub projects posing as desktop versions of ChatGPT and Claude have been used to spread a malware chain that ends with a cryptocurrency miner, Check Point has found. The researchers have been tracking the campaign, dubbed Yoba, for the past two months. Its operator set up repositories and GitHub.
By Sinisa Markovic · helpnetsecurity.com
A short excerpt; the article and its images belong to the publisher. Summary, key facts and assessment above are AI-written from the article and can be wrong.