ELASTIC Security Labs has traced two malicious npm packages to a counterfeit Web3 accelerator branded as “Apex.” The packages, named @apexacc/cli and @apexacc/audit, were pitched as free AI credits, a coding assistant, and security audits for crypto founders. In reality, they installed backdoors and information stealers on macOS and Windows, and redirected AI agent traffic to attacker servers.
The campaign leveraged a glitzy front, including an “Apex Arena” site and activity at TOKEN2049, to appear credible, with claims of hundreds of portfolio projects and substantial funding. Elastic notes that such AI-generated fronts can convincingly resemble legitimate outfits, underscoring the risk of polished online personas in crypto tech circles.
Infection chains begin with the malicious npm packages using launchers that fetch platform-specific payloads from GitHub releases, then contact attacker servers for a “verification” command and execute the received payloads. On macOS, CloudSyncD deploys a Rust helper to retrieve an installer and display a fake password prompt before elevating to admin rights; a Windows chain is more sprawling, involving PowerShell and Python stages to bypass UAC, evade AMSI/ETW, and run a memory-resident stealer.
The Windows variant of the audit package additionally seeks admin rights to exclude itself from Defender and to disable Smart App Control. Exfiltration targets include Telegram channels, password stores, cookies, wallets, and various chat and VPN data, with artefacts observed in OpenRouter-labelled AI traffic and an MCP server under attacker control.
Defenders are urged to remove the packages, rotate secrets, audit AI agents for unexpected endpoints, and watch for Telegram traffic or Defender exclusions associated with the tool. The attribution remains unconfirmed.