2026-10-voice-synthesis-profiles loader campaign: thornqueue, runpier, workslip, taskquay (PyPI) — malicious packages download and execute remote code (no CVE)
Severity: critical · Patch status: no-fix-needed · Since 2026-10-23
On 2026-10-23, GitHub Advisory Database (via OpenSSF malicious-packages and researcher kam193) published malware advisories for four PyPI packages: thornqueue, runpier, workslip, and taskquay, all at version 0.1.0. They belong to a coordinated campaign dubbed 2026-10-voice-synthesis-profiles consisting of similar loader packages that download and execute code from an attacker-controlled URL. The packages do not embed the final payload themselves, but provide deceptive mechanisms to load and run malicious code, with intent consistent with infostealer delivery (CWE-506, Embedded Malicious Code). No patched versions exist; the packages are pure malware and should be removed. Anyone who installed any of these packages is at risk of arbitrary remote code execution on their build or runtime environment.
What to do
- Search dependency locks, requirements files, CI logs and environments for thornqueue, runpier, workslip or taskquay and remove them immediately
- If any package was installed, treat the affected machine/CI runner as compromised: rotate secrets, tokens and credentials accessible from it
- Rebuild affected environments from trusted sources and audit for persistence or downloaded payloads
- Block these package names in internal PyPI mirrors/proxies and enforce dependency allowlists or hash pinning
- Monitor for follow-on packages from the same campaign and review new dependency additions for typosquat-style names
Sources
All live incidents on Threat Watch
