Case maliciouscorgi-vscode-ai-extensionsAI supply chainChina
MaliciousCorgi: 'ChatGPT' and 'ChatMoss' VS Code AI extensions with 1.5M installs exfiltrate open files
Koi found two Marketplace extensions marketed as AI coding assistants that read every opened file, let a server pull up to 50 workspace files on command and loaded hidden analytics trackers, sending data to China-based servers.
HighAttack on AIStatus: Under investigationVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Jan 23, 2026
- Location
- China
- Target
- VS Code users of AI coding assistant extensions
- Severity
- High
- Triggered by
- Publishers WhenSunset and zhukunpeng
- Actor type
- Unknown
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
Koi found two Marketplace extensions marketed as AI coding assistants that read every opened file, let a server pull up to 50 workspace files on command and loaded hidden analytics trackers, sending data to China-based servers.
Impact: About 1.34 million installs of ChatGPT - Chinese edition and 150,000 of ChatMoss; source code, configuration files, cloud credentials and .env secrets of users could have been exposed
Who triggered it
Actor: Publishers WhenSunset and zhukunpeng
Attribution: Extensions published by WhenSunset and zhukunpeng share code and backend; publisher could not be reached and motive was not established
Motive: Unknown; behaviour consistent with source code harvesting and user profiling
How it happened
Attack vector: Extension code that base64-encodes file contents on open and edit, a server-controlled file harvesting command and a zero-pixel iframe loading four analytics SDKs
Root cause: Marketplace review did not catch undisclosed exfiltration in popular extensions presented as AI assistants
Timeline
- Koi publishes MaliciousCorgi findings on the two extensions
- Microsoft says it is investigating and will take appropriate action
Response
Microsoft opened an investigation; Koi advised removal of the extensions and rotation of any secrets in affected workspaces
Current status: Under investigation
Sources (open in a new tab)
- BleepingComputer bleepingcomputer.com
- BleepingComputer VS Code tag bleepingcomputer.com
Cite this case
MaliciousCorgi: 'ChatGPT' and 'ChatMoss' VS Code AI extensions with 1.5M installs exfiltrate open files. AI Threat Watch, case maliciouscorgi-vscode-ai-extensions, Jan 23, 2026. https://aithreat.io/cases/maliciouscorgi-vscode-ai-extensions/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/maliciouscorgi-vscode-ai-extensions/