Overview
- Security firm Socket identified 73 cloned extensions on the OpenVSX registry tied to the GlassWorm v2 campaign, with six confirmed active and the rest assessed as sleepers.
- The malicious listings mimic icons, names, and descriptions from popular extensions under new publishers to create visual trust before switching to harmful updates.
- The loader extensions fetch a secondary VSIX package from GitHub at runtime and use command-line installs to plant it across editors like VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and VSCodium.
- Researchers report evolving tradecraft that includes obfuscated JavaScript, Zig-based droppers, and transitive dependencies that shift key logic outside normal code scans.
- Socket published the full list of suspect extensions and advises anyone who installed them to remove the add-ons, rotate all secrets, and clean their development machines.