strutil-core release targets developer credentials and AI tools
Socket identified strutil-core 1.0.1 as a malicious standalone Ruby gem that ran a credential-stealing payload during installation; RubyGems removed it about five hours after release. Socket found no public projects that depended on it and has confirmed no victims or downstream infections.
The installer runs code as part of gem installation, launching a separate JavaScript payload that reads credential files. Socket confirmed that behavior in a sandbox; its findings that the payload targets cloud, CI, registry, SSH, AI-tool and wallet credentials, writes AI-tool hooks and repository instructions, and contains self-spreading and file-wiping routines come from code analysis, not confirmed victim activity.
With no known public dependents and no downstream infections confirmed, this is evidence of a malicious release, not demonstrated spread through Ruby dependencies. For teams using AI coding assistants, it shows that local assistant configuration and repository instruction files can be targeted alongside saved credentials.
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