qlinforge

Details

**Severity:** Critical

**Affected versions:** `= 0.3.2`

## Source: amazon-inspector (713a696ce725031aab16903d7a29c80611a4c4368c7e35bacf29069a3581c602)
setup.py registers a custom install command that, on Linux, downloads an opaque binary from http://115.190.124.243:9090/payload_linux_amd64 to /tmp/.cache, chmods it executable, and runs it with a C2 argument https://115.190.124.243:8443; on Windows it uses certutil to fetch http://115.190.124.243:9090/payload_windows_amd64.exe to C:/Windows/Temp/svchost2.exe (masquerading as svchost) and executes it. setup.py also writes a qlinforge.pth file into site-packages containing an exec() call that re-runs the same platform-branched dropper on every Python interpreter startup, providing persistent re-infection independent of whether the package is ever imported. The package is advertised as a benign 'Data Validation & Formatting Toolkit' with decoy validator/formatter/parser modules to hide the install-time payload.

## Source: kam193 (8952681c2680f17702d34d053b0af1af1ff8e27a18338b3e84cad5de7e661919)
During installation, the package downloads and executes suspicious executables as well as establishes persistence using PTH files.


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Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.


Campaign: 2026-07-qlinforge


Reasons (based on the campaign):


 - The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.


 - Downloads and executes a remote executable.


 - abuses-pth


 - persistence

## Source: ossf-package-analysis (b7b8698feb88c0880cb05ff902f7e344c5c0a136b345f454b1ab912b3c839b74)
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'qlinforge' @ 0.3.2 (pypi) as malicious.

It is considered malicious because:

- The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.

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Credit: [OpenSSF](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages) ([source](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/49d0cfba3689ed9b195d101d3a2a964c6a77f767/osv/malicious/pypi/qlinforge/MAL-2026-10091.json))

**References:**
- https://bad-packages.kam193.eu/pypi/package/qlinforge
- https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/49d0cfba3689ed9b195d101d3a2a964c6a77f767/osv/malicious/pypi/qlinforge/MAL-2026-10091.json
- https://pypi.org/project/qlinforge/0.3.2
- https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/cc47912f2155de3fb5d618f361d1da1743f969e332a0fc463667167e3f50e12d
- https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/f785d776c670ae303110984e20990a8d8365ca99f47b668a3e1393ebb9b1bf62/detection
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-f433-p8qp-5729

Compromised versions (1)

• = 0.3.2

Any computer that installed or ran a compromised version should be considered fully compromised. Rotate every secret on that machine from a clean environment.