Arch Linux’s AUR is experiencing a malware incident involving user-contributed packages with malicious commits that attempt to download npm-based payloads during installation. (…)
Arch users should not update AUR packages without review. Examine PKGBUILD diffs, check any new .install files, and be cautious if updates introduce npm commands or dependencies unrelated to the software.
Users who recently updated affected AUR packages should review package history, examine executed suspicious install scripts, and treat any unexpected npm-based installation behavior as a possible compromise.
…but Linux is more secure than Windows! /s
This is the same as an EXE having an issue and then blaming Microsoft. At least on Linux you have the option to not install from a 3rd party.
Well, but people do blame Windows!
And there you also have the choice not to install from any source, just the Microsoft Store.
It is. And we don’t have spyware installed by default by our OS.
You run the same risks downloading torrents of games or porn on whatever OS you use. This isn’t really linux related, it’s related to downloading unverified files uploaded by random people online, which is what the aur basically is.
Which is why users are recommended to audit the PKGBUILD and related files before building and installing the packages. In the end, what happens during the installation of AUR packages are the users fault.
Yeah admittedly when i was still using Arch at the time i never read the PKGBUILD. For one i was still more of a newb who didn’t understand the PKGBUILD files yet, but it also didn’t seem to be as much of a problem back then (this was like 5 years ago or something). I don’t use Arch or the AUR anymore now though.
this affects only a fraction of arch users, and it would be impossible for it to work on nix systems for example, on top of that, this is basically npm’s fault