VS Code Tasks Abuse by Contagious Interview (DPRK)
2026-01-13 • Security Alliance •
https://radar.securityalliance.org/vs-code-tasks-abuse-by-contagious-interview-dprk/
Security Alliance analyzes a malicious Bitbucket repository tied to the DPRK Contagious Interview campaign that targets developers through fake recruiting and partnership lures. The repository can execute malware when opened as a trusted VS Code workspace via a folderOpen task, with a fallback application hook that fetches code from chainlink-api-v3.com and executes it through Function.constructor. The Node.js BeaverTail layer steals credentials, browser and wallet data, screenshots, clipboard contents, and enables command execution, while a Python InvisibleFerret layer supports longer-term surveillance, wallet theft, and mining. Reported infrastructure and artifacts include 172.86.116.178, the ctrading repository, hidden staging under ~/.n3/, extension database theft, and commit metadata using a KST+9 timezone. The case matters because merely inspecting attacker-supplied code in VS Code can trigger compromise before a developer intentionally runs the project.
Indicators of Compromise
| Type | Value | First Seen | Last Seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOMAIN | chainlink-api-v3.com | 2025-10-21 | 2026-03-23 |
| URL | http://chainlink-api-v3.com/api… | 2026-01-13 | 2026-02-19 |
| HASH | b2040f01294c183945fdbe487022cf8e | 2025-10-21 | 2026-02-19 |
| IPv4 | 172.86.116.178 | 2025-10-21 | 2026-02-03 |
| IPv4 | 146.70.253.107 | 2025-10-10 | 2026-02-03 |
| HASH | b38de9527e8ead69a8ead5ce52a9202… | 2026-01-13 | 2026-01-13 |
| URL | http://chainlink-api-v3.com/ | 2026-01-13 | 2026-01-13 |