Exposed: PyPI Packages Exploit Cloud Security with 14,100 Downloads

Exposed: PyPI Packages Exploit Cloud Security with 14,100 Downloads

Summary

• Twenty malicious PyPI packages identified by ReversingLabs.
• Downloads passed 14,100 before the packages were removed, according to researchers.
• Stolen credentials could give attackers broad access to cloud services.
• Part of a growing wave of open-source supply chain attacks.
• Developers are urged to vet packages before installing them.

Researchers have found malicious packages in the Python Package Index (PyPI) built to steal cloud credentials and other data. Together they were downloaded more than 14,100 times before removal, well past the 14,000 mark, another reminder of how exposed software supply chains are. Security firm ReversingLabs reported the campaign in 2025.

How the campaign worked

ReversingLabs found 20 packages. Some posed as time-related utilities, with names like ‘snapshot-photo’ and ‘time-check-server’, and quietly sent data to attacker servers. Others imitated cloud SDK tools, such as ‘acloud-client’, ‘enumer-iam’ and ‘tcloud-python-test’, and grabbed cloud credentials.

Because they looked like legitimate tools, the packages made it into developer environments. Many organizations pull code from PyPI without checking it, and this campaign shows the cost of that habit.

What was taken

With more than 14,100 downloads, exposure was wide. The packages stole cloud access keys, environment variables and other sensitive files, and with those an attacker can get into a company’s cloud accounts, take data, run up bills or lock the owner out.

Supply chain attacks keep growing

The campaign fits a broader pattern. Attackers target open-source dependencies because one poisoned package can reach many companies at once. They either slip bad code into existing packages or publish new ones that pretend to be useful utilities, as happened here.

Public repositories do little vetting. Treat third-party code as attack surface.

How to protect cloud credentials

Repository operators are adding automated malware scanning and monitoring. Researchers also urge developers to check every package before installing it, even from well-known repositories: who published it, how old it is and whether the name is a near-copy of a popular tool.

Audit the third-party components in use. Keep an inventory of dependencies, train developers on supply chain risk, and prefer short-lived cloud credentials so a leaked key expires before anyone can do much with it.

What developers should do now

The software supply chain is now a main target. Developers who installed any of the named packages should remove them and rotate every cloud key and token the affected machines could reach.

Pinning dependencies, using a private package mirror and scanning new packages before they enter a build pipeline all make the next campaign harder.

Dan Evert, CCNP

Dan Evert is a self proclaimed Router Jockey. Dan got heavily involved in networking right out of high school and has never looked back! Dan is giving back by working with high school students to get them involved and interested in Networking and Security.