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supplychainattack.orgSupply chain attack incident catalog
resolvedcritical

Malicious code in adtool (PyPI)

The adtool package on PyPI contained malicious code that executed spyware and information-stealing malware. This package was part of a campaign by the EsqueleSquad group that published nearly 6,000 malicious packages across PyPI and NPM.

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Disclosed
Last updated
Blast radius
Potentially thousands of installations; part of a large-scale malicious package campaign affecting both PyPI and NPM ecosystems.
Ecosystems
PyPI
Attack vectors
Compromised package
Threat actor
Esquelesquad
Affected entities
  • adtoolPyPI package containing malicious code

The adtool package published on PyPI was identified as containing malicious code designed to execute spyware and information-stealing malware on affected systems. This incident was part of a coordinated campaign by the EsqueleSquad group.\n\nThe EsqueleSquad group published nearly 6,000 malicious packages across both the PyPI and NPM ecosystems as part of this campaign. The malicious packages were designed to compromise systems and steal sensitive information from users and organizations.\n\nThis incident was documented and credited to the OpenSSF's malicious-packages repository, which tracks confirmed malicious package incidents across major package ecosystems.

Indicators of compromise

Packages
  • adtool

Remediation

  • Immediately remove or uninstall the adtool package from all systems where it was installed
  • Audit systems that may have executed the adtool package for signs of compromise, including unauthorized access, data exfiltration, or persistence mechanisms
  • Review and revoke any credentials or sensitive information that may have been exposed
  • Monitor for indicators of compromise related to spyware or information-stealing malware
  • Check PyPI and NPM repositories for other packages from the same campaign and remove them
  • Implement package verification and scanning in your dependency management workflow

Sources

  1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-xcqv-7j82-46f3 · GitHub Advisory Database

Cite this entry

"Malicious code in adtool (PyPI)." supplychainattack.org, Supply Chain Attack Incident Catalog. Disclosed July 21, 2026; last updated July 21, 2026. https://supplychainattack.org/incident/malicious-code-in-adtool-pypi-yedgt5

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