Fake OpenAI Codex download tricks macOS users into installing malware
Cato Networks uncovered a malware campaign using sponsored search ads and fake OpenAI Codex pages to deliver an AMOS-like infostealer to macOS users.
Cato Networks researchers discovered a campaign using sponsored search results and a fake OpenAI Codex download portal on Google Sites to lure macOS users. Victims are instructed to paste a Terminal command that decodes a Base64-encoded URL and runs a multi-stage infection chain ending in a universal Mach-O binary. The delivery chain closely resembles Atomic macOS Stealer (AMOS), and related infrastructure impersonating Claude Code was also found. Operators use iframe-based hosting and path/device gating to evade analysts and automated scanners.
- Sponsored ads for 'codex macos download' lead to a Google Sites page mimicking OpenAI's Codex portal
- Victims paste a Terminal command that fetches a zsh script via a Base64-decoded URL
- Payload is a universal Mach-O binary staged at /tmp/helper with xattr -c cleanup
- Delivery chain overlaps heavily with Atomic macOS Stealer (AMOS)
- Related infrastructure also impersonates Claude Code
- ATT&CK
- T1566.002 Spearphishing LinkT1204.001 Malicious LinkT1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or InformationT1059.004 Unix Shell
- Vendors
- OpenAICato Networks
- Products
- CodexClaude Code
- Malware
- Atomic macOS Stealer (AMOS)
- Organizations
- Cato NetworksOpenAI
From the original article
2 min read at helpnetsecurity.com
A malware campaign using a sponsored search ad and a fake OpenAI Codex download page to trick macOS users into pasting a malicious command into Terminal has been uncovered by Cato Networks. It’s a variation of ClickFix , a popular social engineering technique that persuades victims to execute the infection step themselves rather than opening a malicious file.
By @helpnetsecurity · helpnetsecurity.com
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