Claude Code VS Code extension with backdoor released on Cursor marketplace
What happened
Anthropic’s Claude Code VS Code extension was compromised on the Cursor Marketplace, where a malicious version (2.1.313) added a persistent SSH reverse‑tunnel backdoor to developer laptops. The backdoor collected host details, attempted to insert an attacker‑controlled SSH key, enabled SSH, and kept a tunnel alive via launch agents or scheduled tasks, reporting status to a local HTTP endpoint. Cursor removed the tampered package after about eight hours and replaced it with version 2.1.314, which appears clean but does not uninstall existing backdoors. Around 5,000 developer systems were impacted, according to Cursor, and the incident was first spotted by Phorion.
Why it matters
Ordinary readers should know that a supply‑chain attack can silently give attackers remote control of personal development machines, potentially exposing any code or data stored locally. Even trusted extensions can be weaponised, so vigilance when updating tools is essential.
Reality check
An automated, sceptical read of the sourceIncremental. The breach shows a typical supply‑chain risk rather than a fundamentally new technology or threat vector.
Is this a big deal?
Get stories like this every morning
The day's AI news in plain English, in your inbox at 8:30 IST. Free.
More from Anthropic
Anthropic Upgrades Claude Code Projects to Run Parallel AI Workers Hands-FreeAnthropic · 14 Nov 2026Claude designed FPGA scaler board for 6th-gen consolesAnthropic · 13 Nov 2026I asked Claude Fable 5.2 to turn my site into a 90s Silicon Graphics workstationAnthropic · 13 Nov 2026Anthropic is endorsing SB 53Anthropic · 13 Nov 2026Understanding and addressing AI harmsAnthropic · 13 Nov 2026This page was collected from doublepulsar.com and summarised automatically by AIPulsee's pipeline. See how it runs.