to use OpenClaw Generally, to achieve more automation or connect external services, installing Skills is required. However, you now need to be especially careful. According to the latest foreign security research team’s report, the well-known ClawHub and GitHub On the platform, more than 200 Skills containing malicious code have been discovered, disguised as cryptocurrency automated trading tools, but actually will macOS and Windows Malicious software that secretly steals information
Image source: OpenSourceMalware
OpenClaw Users, Don’t Install Carelessly! Malicious Code Found in Skills on Both ClawHub and GitHub
According to the OpenSourceMalware security research team, 28 malicious skills were initially uploaded to ClawHub and GitHub between January 27-29, 2026, followed by over 200 additional Skills on January 31 to February 1, bringing the total to over 230.
Image source: OpenSourceMalware
Interestingly, however, all the skills currently containing malicious code are related to cryptocurrency trading bots, making it clear that the intent is to steal users’ cryptocurrency.
Image source: OpenSourceMalware
According to sources, this technique involves packaging malicious processes as seemingly legitimate installation or setup tutorials, such as asking you to copy and paste what appears to be an “initialization” command when setting up an exchange, wallet, or automation workflow.
Because the instruction content is obfuscated, fragmented, and made less readable in various ways, experienced developers might notice it right away, but for regular users, they’ll just think “just follow the steps to complete setup.” In reality, this command is actually downloading and executing a remote script, allowing info-stealing malware to be placed in your environment.
Image source: OpenSourceMalware
Next, the infostealer will start searching for cryptocurrency-related API keys, wallet files, and browser extension wallets on your computer. It will even scan macOS Keychain, SSH keys, AWS/Gcloud credentials, Git credentials, or .env files.
These malicious Skills simultaneously target both Windows and macOS users, spreading through extensive social engineering tactics.
According to Tom’s Hardware, one of the Skills flagged as malicious once appeared on the ClawHub homepage, suggesting that quite a few people may have mistakenly installed it before it was removed.
To enable OpenClaw to automate the tools you want, you sometimes have to install Skills. However, always make sure to use trusted sources—don’t just try out something you see shared online unless you fully understand the commands and carefully review every installation step.
Image source: OpenSourceMalware
During OpenSourceMalware’s investigation of the AI Skills login platform, they discovered that ClawHub currently shows no evidence that Skills undergo any security scanning, so users should exercise extra caution.
As agentic AI tools gain more attention, incidents involving malicious code are expected to increase. For those without any technical background, it’s recommended to wait until the technology is more mature and secure before trying it.
Source: KOCPC Chinese