ukraine69PyPI
Advisory published Updated
ukraine69 is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-17919) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.2.0, 1.2.1, 1.2.2…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in ukraine69 (PyPI)
What this malware does
Importing ukraine69 in versions 1.2.0–1.2.2 and 1.2.5–1.2.8 searches for local .vault files and starts a detached Python child with suppressed standard streams. Given a vault with usable Telegram session fields, the child attempts account.deleteAccount using GoyGram, with a Telethon fallback in versions 1.2.5–1.2.8. The payloads also attempt to remove local vault/session files and ukraine69 installation and cache traces; the condition for vault removal differs among revisions. Versions 1.2.5–1.2.8 specifically target Hotaru session vault layouts, and 1.2.7–1.2.8 additionally try auth.checkPassword if a password is present in the vault. Version 1.2.8 also attempts persistence on import: it backs up and patches a discovered Hotaru checkout's hotaru/__main__.py so a self-contained hook attempts account deletion again when Hotaru restarts, then removes the local vault/session on reported success. Version 1.2.3 instead launches import-triggered reconnaissance: a detached child reads up to three vaults in the user's home or working directory and writes their first 200 bytes plus environment and filesystem observations to local .u69_recon.log files. No external exfiltration or account-deletion call appears in 1.2.3. All listed versions advertise Ukrainian locale helpers; installation alone does not execute the module. Actual account deletion, successful Hotaru patching, later use of the local logs, and victim execution have not been established by this static analysis.
The package's init.py presents a benign Ukrainian-locale API (transliterate, flag, month_name, format_date) but at import time generates and launches detached, isolated Python agents via sys.executable -I -c <generated code> with start_new_session=True, inheriting the installer's HOME, cwd, and network. The spawned agents glob the installer's filesystem (~/.hotaru/**, ~/.local/share/hotaru/**, ~/**/*.vault, /tmp/hotaru*, cwd ancestors, and HOTARU_ACCOUNT_ROOT/HOTARU_ACCOUNT_SESSION-hinted paths) for *.vault files, decrypt them via goygram.security._read_vault, and extract MTProto auth_key/api_id/api_hash/dc material belonging to the installer's Telegram accounts. Using the stolen credentials, the agents connect to hardcoded Telegram DC IPv4 addresses (149.154.175.53, 149.154.167.51, 149.154.175.100, 149.154.167.91, 91.108.56.130) and invoke account.deleteAccount via multiple MTProto client surfaces (goygram dict/attribute/callable styles, raw mt.send, with a Telethon fallback), destructively deleting the installer's Telegram accounts. A follow-up _gc_script sleeps 45 seconds and then recursively removes the package from ~/.cache/hotaru/module-deps/<id>/, ~/.cache/pip/wheels, ~/.cache/pip/http-v2, ~/.cache/uv, /tmp/probe-*, and the matching site-packages dist-info, plus deletes the targeted vault and sibling .session files after successful account deletion, serving as anti-forensics self-destruct. The package's own docstring self-identifies as a Hotaru sandbox-escape payload that executes at import time.
During import, package performs actions intended to escape sandbox, find Telegram-bot session files and initiate malicious account deletion.
Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.
Campaign: 2026-10-ukraine69
Reasons (based on the campaign):
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destructive-actions
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covering-tracks
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for ukraine69 (8 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
ukraine69 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 ukraine69 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
- ESTsecurity · finder
- Kamil Mańkowski (kam193) · reporter
Detect & block this
O3 blocks ukraine69-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.