hackers compromised the npm token for cline cli (an ai coding assistant) and pushed version 2.3.0 with a postinstall script that installed openclaw, a popular but now-malicious ai agent tool.

it hit about 4000 downloads in an 8-hour window before they yanked it and fixed things. openclaw itself has been tied to infostealing in ai agent ecosystems.

one bad publish and thousands get pwned with stealers grabbing keys and data.

source: thehackernews report on the cline/openclaw incident, echoed in recent cybersecurity discussions on x.