bt-burn-watchPyPI
Advisory published Updated
bt-burn-watch is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-5312) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.4.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in bt-burn-watch (PyPI)
What this malware does
Package advertises Bittensor subnet burn-rate monitoring but the compiled core module's own docstring describes itself as a 'clipboard logger + Bittensor subnet burn rate monitoring' tool. defaults.env ships a hardcoded Telegram bot token (8666228137:AAF_NLMrow4cDf3uEJCl3JY7DeBHtovd1TU) and chat id (8766781014) commented 'Bundled for all pip install users'. When the user runs the documented bittensor-burn-watch install CLI, the package installs persistence via Task Scheduler (Windows), systemd (Linux) or LaunchAgent (macOS), polls the OS clipboard, deduplicates each unique string via a local SQLite store, and POSTs every new clipboard entry to api.telegram.org under the author's bot. The compiled core exposes clipboard_already_sent, _claim_clipboard_text, _normalize_clipboard_text, _clipboard_fingerprint, plus a Win32-API clipboard reader whose own docstring boasts 'no window flash' (anti-detection), and on Linux silently apt/dnf/pacman-installs wl-clipboard/xclip without prompting. The package is shipped as Cython-compiled.so files only (no Python source) for a tool that does nothing more than call a public REST API and send Telegram messages — compilation here exists to hide the clipboard-capture surface from casual pip download && grep audits. Given the Bittensor user base, clipboard contents typically include TAO wallet seed phrases, private keys, and exchange API keys. defaults.env also bundles the author's own taostats API key for all installers to consume.
The package contains code to steal clipboard content to a predefined remote location. If run in the right way, the code will periodically check the clipboard and if the content matches the pattern, exfiltrates it. Early versions contain this behavior mentioned in the README. The targeted data are likely cryptocurrency secret phrases.
Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.
Campaign: 2026-06-clip-logger
Reasons (based on the campaign):
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clipboard-stealing
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crypto-related
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for bt-burn-watch (version 1.4.0).
If you installed it — respond
bt-burn-watch is built to steal secrets, so assume every credential the build or runtime could read is compromised. Remove it from your project and lockfile, then rotate ALL exposed secrets — npm/registry tokens, cloud keys, CI/CD secrets, SSH keys, and any .env values — from a known-clean machine. Audit logs for unauthorized use of those credentials.
Did it already run?
If bt-burn-watch was installed, its post-install payload may already have run. Removing the package does not undo that — check outbound connections and credential use from the install window onward.
Frequently asked questions
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
- Kamil Mańkowski (kam193) · reporter
Detect & block this
O3 blocks bt-burn-watch-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.