--- title: Tricks from the Past deployed via signed ChatGPT and... description: A malware campaign called Yoba uses fake GitHub repositories mimicking AI desktop apps like GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Opus to trick victims into... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/tricks-from-the-past-deployed-via-signed-chatgpt-and-claude-binaries-z814m7ab6 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Tricks from the Past deployed via signed ChatGPT and Claude binaries | daily.dev og:description: A malware campaign called Yoba uses fake GitHub repositories mimicking AI desktop apps like GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Opus to trick victims into... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/tricks-from-the-past-deployed-via-signed-chatgpt-and-claude-binaries-z814m7ab6 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/Z814m7ab6.png og:image:alt: Tricks from the Past deployed via signed ChatGPT and Claude binaries og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Tricks from the Past deployed via signed ChatGPT and Claude binaries **[Check Point Research](https://daily.dev/sources/cpresearch)** · 16 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A malware campaign called Yoba uses fake GitHub repositories mimicking AI desktop apps like GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Opus to trick victims into downloading malicious installers. The ZIPs include legitimately signed OpenAI or Anthropic Setup.exe binaries that sideload a malicious winmm.dll, which drops a second-stage payload via scheduled tasks. The malware checks keyboard layout to avoid CIS countries, uses a Telegram channel's profile image as a seed for a domain generation algorithm, and fetches commands via Google DNS-over-HTTPS TXT records. The final payload observed is an XMRig 6.26.0 cryptominer routed through Tor. An earlier June 2026 variant was sideloaded via a process named Cursor.exe. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How does the Yoba malware campaign use fake ChatGPT and Claude GitHub repositories to infect victims? Attackers create convincing GitHub repositories and GitHub.io pages impersonating AI apps named GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Opus, ranking them via SEO poisoning on search engines. The ZIP releases contain legitimately signed OpenAI or Anthropic Setup.exe binaries that sideload a malicious winmm.dll (YobaDropper), which then drops a second-stage YobaLoader via scheduled tasks disguised as Windows Media Player telemetry. _Developers vetting AI tool downloads can track emerging GitHub-based malware techniques on daily.dev._ ### What final payload does the Yoba malware deliver after infecting a system? The confirmed final payload is an XMRig 6.26.0 Monero cryptominer injected into svchost.exe, routed through a Tor SOCKS5 proxy to a TLS-enabled onion mining endpoint, with CPU usage capped at 85% and mining paused after user activity until 240 seconds of idle time. The loader is generic, so operators could swap in other PE or PowerShell payloads via DNS-based tasking. _Security teams investigating cryptominer infections can follow writeups like this on daily.dev._ ### How does the Yoba malware retrieve its command-and-control instructions without obvious network indicators? It generates a domain using a DGA seeded by the last 50 bytes of a Telegram channel's profile picture (t.me/yoba_fanclub), combining adjective, noun, verb, and digit word lists, then queries Google's DNS-over-HTTPS API for a TXT record. The response is Ed25519-signature-verified and AES-ECB decrypted, yielding a catbox.moe URL hosting the encrypted next-stage payload. _Developers researching DNS-based C2 and DGA evasion techniques can follow analyses like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Threat Actors Abuse claude.ai Shared Chat for ClickFix Malvertising Campaign](https://daily.dev/posts/threat-actors-abuse-claude-ai-shared-chat-for-clickfix-malvertising-campaign-zdoc6dupj) · Trend Micro · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Breaking Opus 4.7 with ChatGPT \(Hacking Claude's Memory\) · Embrace The Red](https://daily.dev/posts/breaking-opus-4-7-with-chatgpt-hacking-claude-s-memory-embrace-the-red-i3pdz3zfb) · Embrace The Red · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#cyber](https://daily.dev/tags/cyber), [#github](https://daily.dev/tags/github), [#crypto](https://daily.dev/tags/crypto), [#malware](https://daily.dev/tags/malware) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/tricks-from-the-past-deployed-via-signed-chatgpt-and-claude-binaries-z814m7ab6) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Tricks from the Past deployed via signed ChatGPT and Claude binaries","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/tricks-from-the-past-deployed-via-signed-chatgpt-and-claude-binaries-z814m7ab6","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/tricks-from-the-past-deployed-via-signed-chatgpt-and-claude-binaries-z814m7ab6"},"datePublished":"2026-10-27T13:11:07.642Z","dateModified":"2026-10-28T14:35:35.945Z","description":"A malware campaign called Yoba uses fake GitHub repositories mimicking AI desktop apps like GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Opus to trick victims into...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--0_ODbtD2--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2008","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--0_ODbtD2--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2008","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Check Point Research","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Check Point Research","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/7e3b130555214df2bf737ee6c764fa42","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/cpresearch"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/tricks-from-the-past-deployed-via-signed-chatgpt-and-claude-binaries-z814m7ab6","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"cyber,github,crypto,malware","timeRequired":"PT16M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Check Point Research","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/cpresearch"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Tricks from the Past deployed via signed ChatGPT and Claude binaries"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/tricks-from-the-past-deployed-via-signed-chatgpt-and-claude-binaries-z814m7ab6#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How does the Yoba malware campaign use fake ChatGPT and Claude GitHub repositories to infect victims?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Attackers create convincing GitHub repositories and GitHub.io pages impersonating AI apps named GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-6 Astra, and Claude Opus, ranking them via SEO poisoning on search engines. The ZIP releases contain legitimately signed OpenAI or Anthropic Setup.exe binaries that sideload a malicious winmm.dll (YobaDropper), which then drops a second-stage YobaLoader via scheduled tasks disguised as Windows Media Player telemetry. Developers vetting AI tool downloads can track emerging GitHub-based malware techniques on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What final payload does the Yoba malware deliver after infecting a system?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The confirmed final payload is an XMRig 6.26.0 Monero cryptominer injected into svchost.exe, routed through a Tor SOCKS5 proxy to a TLS-enabled onion mining endpoint, with CPU usage capped at 85% and mining paused after user activity until 240 seconds of idle time. The loader is generic, so operators could swap in other PE or PowerShell payloads via DNS-based tasking. Security teams investigating cryptominer infections can follow writeups like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How does the Yoba malware retrieve its command-and-control instructions without obvious network indicators?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It generates a domain using a DGA seeded by the last 50 bytes of a Telegram channel's profile picture (t.me/yoba_fanclub), combining adjective, noun, verb, and digit word lists, then queries Google's DNS-over-HTTPS API for a TXT record. The response is Ed25519-signature-verified and AES-ECB decrypted, yielding a catbox.moe URL hosting the encrypted next-stage payload. Developers researching DNS-based C2 and DGA evasion techniques can follow analyses like this on daily.dev."}}]} ```