{"slug": "claude-code-for-vs-code-2-1-313-backdoor-how-to-check-your-machine-and-clean-up", "title": "Claude Code for VS Code 2.1.313 backdoor: how to check your machine and clean up", "summary": "Security firm Phorion reported on October 30, 2026 that release 2.1.313 of Claude Code for VS Code, distributed through the Cursor Marketplace, contained a hidden backdoor inserted at the top of extension.js that executed on load without prompting. The malware added an SSH key to authorized_keys, opened a reverse tunnel to 134.209.82[.]225, beaconed host and environment data including token and cloud-key names, and installed persistence via LaunchAgents, cron and Windows startup entries; Cursor has pulled the release along with the NPM and VS Code versions, but uninstalling the extension does not remove what it installed. Phorion published detection commands, the backdoored file's SHA-256 and the key fingerprint so users can check affected machines and rotate exposed credentials.", "body_md": "Security firm Phorion published an advisory on October 30, 2026 saying that release 2.1.313 of Claude Code for VS Code, as served through the Cursor Marketplace, carried a hidden backdoor. Cursor has pulled the release, and the advisory says the NPM and VS Code versions of 2.1.313 were pulled too. Uninstalling the extension does not remove what it installed. Phorion is the only primary source so far, so every technical detail below is its finding.\n\nPhorion found an extra block of code inserted at the top of `extension.js`. Because it sat above everything else, it ran as soon as Node loaded the file, before the extension's `activate` function and without any prompt.\n\n`svc-telemetry` to `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`.` 134.209.82[.]225` on port 22 as user `tunnel`, with a reverse tunnel (`-R *:0:localhost:22`), so the attacker's server could reach your own SSH service. The key it used was stored at `$TMPDIR/.stk_` plus 10 hex characters.`/beacon` on port 8099 of the same address with your hostname, username, platform, CPU architecture, Git email, public IP and the names of up to 40 environment variables matching KEY, TOKEN, SECRET, PASS, AWS or GCP.\nPer Phorion, it installed persistence on every major desktop system, and it retries the connection every 60 seconds:\n\n`~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.sysmond.plist`, plus `~/.config/.smt` and `.smtk`.`@reboot` cron entry.`SysMon`, or a `sysmon.cmd` file in the Startup folder.\nRun these on any machine that had 2.1.313 installed in Cursor or VS Code:\n\n```\ngrep svc-telemetry ~/.ssh/authorized_keys\nls -la ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.sysmond.plist ~/.config/.smt* 2>/dev/null\ncrontab -l | grep @reboot\nls -la \"$TMPDIR\"/.stk_* /tmp/.stk_* 2>/dev/null\nps aux | grep -E \"autossh|ssh .*tunnel@\" | grep -v grep\n```\n\nOn Windows, look for the `SysMon` task in Task Scheduler and `sysmon.cmd` in the Startup folder. Phorion also lists the SHA-256 of the backdoored `extension.js` (`ecb58cb29078d9646ad1dcdbe51526f2d9cfea06be5fb2ab183e8ecc3ab6bf15`) and the key fingerprint (` SHA256:0Z6R+DF64Do2nwQic8a7kkfDLNNk4IiK+2U2Rci4htk`). In SSH logs, a login from `127.0.0.1` or `::1` using the `svc-telemetry` key means someone came back through the tunnel.\n\n`autossh` processes it started.`/tmp/.stk_*`.\nOne addition: if the beacon could have listed token or cloud key names from your environment, rotate those keys too.\n\nPhorion also notes a logic bug on macOS: without admin rights, `systemsetup -getremotelogin` errors but still reports success, so the step that would switch on Remote Login was skipped. The outbound beacon is unaffected, so do not treat that as a free pass.\n\nThe original on SyntaxRadar adds a FAQ on whether the extension is safe now and how to vet AI coding extensions: [https://syntaxradar.com/radar/claude-code-extension-vscode-backdoor](https://syntaxradar.com/radar/claude-code-extension-vscode-backdoor)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-code-for-vs-code-2-1-313-backdoor-how-to-check-your-machine-and-clean-up", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/abdul_rehman_90cb34d3a146/claude-code-for-vs-code-21313-backdoor-how-to-check-your-machine-and-clean-up-55k8", "published_at": "2026-10-31 08:15:04+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-31 08:19:41.875102+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools", "ai-safety", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["Phorion", "Claude Code for VS Code", "Cursor Marketplace", "Cursor", "SyntaxRadar"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-code-for-vs-code-2-1-313-backdoor-how-to-check-your-machine-and-clean-up", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-code-for-vs-code-2-1-313-backdoor-how-to-check-your-machine-and-clean-up.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-code-for-vs-code-2-1-313-backdoor-how-to-check-your-machine-and-clean-up.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/claude-code-for-vs-code-2-1-313-backdoor-how-to-check-your-machine-and-clean-up.jsonld"}}