575 Fake AI Agent Skills Shipped Malware: Check Before You Install
Headline figure: more than 575 malicious OpenClaw skills posing as utilities, delivering trojans, cryptocurrency miners, and information stealers to Windows and macOS. Source: Acronis TRU Cyber Pulse 2026, via Help Net Security, Nov. 10, 2026. Payload types, Windows, and macOS are reported by Help Net Security and in Acronis TRU's April 30, 2026 research. The OpenClaw mark is from the project's public assets.
Yes. Acronis Threat Research Unit's TRU Cyber Pulse 2026 report identified more than 575 malicious OpenClaw skills posing as handy utilities. Install one, and it delivered malware (Help Net Security, Nov. 10, 2026, Acronis TRU Cyber Pulse 2026).
The good news: a few habits before you click Install go a long way.
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Why Does This Matter?
An agent skill is not just a written instruction. Help Net Security, reporting on the Pulse research, says a skill can combine instructions with executable code, and that code uses permissions you already gave your agent (Help Net Security).
Think of it like a browser add-on that also comes with a script. If you already let your agent read files, send mail, or run commands, a bad skill can use that same access.
I walk through the report and the four checks in this Short: Watch the Short on YouTube
What Did Researchers Find?
The Pulse report says TRU identified more than 575 malicious OpenClaw skills across 13 developer accounts, and that the packages impersonated legitimate utilities while delivering malware (Acronis TRU Cyber Pulse 2026).
Help Net Security adds that those packages delivered trojans, cryptocurrency miners, and information stealers to Windows and macOS systems (Help Net Security). The same details appear in Acronis TRU's earlier write-up, "Poisoning the well," published April 30, 2026, which also names AMOS, a macOS information stealer, among the payloads (Acronis TRU, Apr. 30, 2026).
That April research is the source of the exact 575 count and the 13-account breakdown later cited in the Pulse report. Two accounts published 334 skills (58.09%) and 199 skills (34.61%). The other 11 accounts published 21 or fewer each, and the 13 totals add up to 575 (Acronis TRU, Apr. 30, 2026). We are not repeating the account handles here.
575 malicious OpenClaw skills across 13 developer accounts. Account #1 published 334 (58.09%) and account #2 published 199 (34.61%). Handles are omitted. Source: Acronis TRU, "Poisoning the well" (Apr. 30, 2026), cited in Acronis TRU Cyber Pulse 2026.
The April research also describes how some skills looked useful, then told the user or the agent to download an extra installer or run a hidden command (Acronis TRU, Apr. 30, 2026). That is why "read the code, not just the description" matters.
Did This Only Happen With OpenClaw?
No. Help Net Security reports that researchers also documented malicious payloads on Hugging Face, disguised as models, datasets, and AI applications (Help Net Security). The April 30 research covers that Hugging Face activity in more detail. The Pulse PDF we reviewed states the OpenClaw skill count, but does not itself describe the Hugging Face cases.
What Should You Do Before You Install a Skill?
Read the code, not just the description. A friendly summary is not a review.
Give your agent only the access the task needs. If the job does not require mail or command access, do not grant it.
Keep approval prompts on, so nothing runs without you saying yes.
If you would not run a random script from the internet, do not let your agent run one either.
These four checks are Chibitek guidance. They line up with Acronis advice to limit agent permissions and require approval for high-impact actions, but they are our wording, not a quote from the report.
Key Points of OpenClaw Malicious Skills
Acronis TRU's Cyber Pulse 2026 report identified more than 575 malicious OpenClaw skills across 13 developer accounts.
The skills posed as utilities and delivered malware.
Help Net Security and the April 30 research say the payloads included trojans, cryptocurrency miners, and information stealers, on Windows and macOS.
A skill can carry code that runs with the permissions you already gave your agent.
Researchers also found malware on Hugging Face dressed up as models, datasets, and AI apps.
Before you install a skill: read the code, limit access, keep approval prompts on, and treat a skill like any script from the internet.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an OpenClaw skill?
It is an add-on that extends what the OpenClaw agent can do. The April 30 research says skills are distributed through ClawHub and can let the agent manage email, automate tasks, and run scripts and commands (Acronis TRU, Apr. 30, 2026).
Is the number 575 or more than 575?
The Pulse report and Help Net Security say "more than 575." The April 30 research also uses "575+" in its summary, and gives an exact count of 575 skills across 13 accounts in the body of that post. We use "more than 575" for the Pulse finding, and 575 when citing that account breakdown.
When was this first reported?
The detailed OpenClaw and Hugging Face research was published by Acronis TRU on April 30, 2026. The Cyber Pulse 2026 report, dated in the PDF as Oct. 28, 2026, restates the "more than 575" finding. Help Net Security covered that Pulse report on Nov. 10, 2026.
Does a trusted marketplace mean a skill is fine to install?
No. These skills were published in the OpenClaw ecosystem and posed as utilities. The listing is not a review of the code.
Were only two accounts involved?
No. The April 30 research lists 13 developer accounts. Two of them published most of the 575 skills (334 and 199). The other 11 published 21 or fewer each.
Let's Check Before You Install
At Chibitek, we help businesses use AI agents with clear access rules and no geek-speak. Don't let a handy-looking skill become malware on a work computer. Contact us at hello@chibitek.com to learn how we can help you review agent permissions, skill sources, and install habits your team will actually use.
Further reading: Help Net Security, Nov. 10, 2026, Acronis TRU Cyber Pulse 2026, and Acronis TRU's April 30, 2026 research.
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