gcli-controlPyPI
gcli-control is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-12502) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 0.5.0, 0.11.1, 0.12.2…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in gcli-control (PyPI)
What this malware does
The package installs and runs a host daemon (python -m gcli host) that polls a shared JSON document at api.npoint.io for commands, decrypts them, executes them on the installer's machine, and posts encrypted results back. Any party who writes to that shared document controls full-host code execution on every daemon polling it. host.py hardcodes a default rendezvous bin ID 599ac3c39189fcc26e5a shared across all installers who do not override it, and crypto.py implements a __BYPASS__ password sentinel with a BY: base64-only path that disables AES-GCM entirely, allowing anonymous unauthenticated command injection against every daemon on the default bin. The command dispatcher exposes 200+ operations invokable through this channel, including browser_passwords, browser_cookies, keylog_start/read/save, webcam_capture, shell_history, wifi_password, screenshot, and users add/change_password (credential and secret harvesting); and install_startup/install_scheduled/install_watchdog writing Windows Run keys, systemd user services, cron entries, and startup-folder launchers that relaunch python -m gcli host on boot, plus an elevator module offering elevate_uac / elevate_sudo / persist_admin for privilege escalation. The combination is a full remote-access trojan: remote command execution, credential/browser-secret exfiltration, keylogging and webcam capture, boot persistence, and privilege elevation, all reachable by any party who knows the default rendezvous bin.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for gcli-control (4 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging gcli-control across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
gcli-control 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 gcli-control was ever installed, its post-install/runtime payload may have already executed. O3's L7 egress monitoring and runtime eBPF sensors detect the credential exfiltration or command-and-control callback after install and block the malicious outbound channel, so you catch and contain the actual compromise — not just the presence of the package.
How O3 protects you
O3 blocks gcli-control before install through its supply-chain scanner, and if it has already run, detects and severs the exfiltration or C2 callback at runtime through L7 egress monitoring and eBPF.
Frequently asked questions
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks gcli-control-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.