Anthropic's vs code extension compromised in supply-chain attack

An official VS Code extension for Anthropic’s Claude model was compromised in a supply-chain attack, potentially affecting up to 5,000 developers. The malicious version, 2.1.313, was distributed through Anthropic’s official account on Cursor, a maker of AI-assisted developer tools. Independent researcher Kevin Beaumont and Phorian’s CTO and co-founder Luke Roberts confirmed the malicious version was posted to the official Anthropic account, effectively replacing version 2.1.312. Both versions were available on Cursor’s marketplace, with 2.1.314 released several hours after 2.1.313. Roberts explained that the attack involved gaining access to the official distribution channel, allowing the malicious extension to be automatically installed on users’ systems. Neither Cursor nor Anthropic has provided details on how the attackers gained control of the account. Phorian has additional details on the incident, highlighting the severity of the breach and the potential impact on developers. The attack underscores vulnerabilities in supply-chain security, emphasizing the need for robust account protection and user awareness.