OpenAI Revokes macOS App Certificate After Malicious Axios Supply Chain Incident

Dev.to / 4/24/2026

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Key Points

  • A North Korean threat group, UNC1069, carried out an npm Axios supply-chain attack by poisoning specific library versions with a backdoor (WAVESHAPER.V2).
  • The malicious versions were inadvertently pulled into OpenAI’s macOS app signing GitHub Actions workflow, leading OpenAI to revoke the affected macOS app certificate for multiple products.
  • OpenAI reported no evidence that signing credentials were exfiltrated or that user data was compromised, but the signing keys were exposed by the incident.
  • OpenAI required users to update impacted apps by May 8, 2026, including ChatGPT Desktop, Codex, Codex CLI, and Atlas.
  • The incident underscores the heightened risk that software supply chain compromises pose to AI software delivery pipelines.

Forensic Summary

A North Korean threat group (UNC1069) compromised the popular npm Axios library via a supply chain attack, injecting a backdoor (WAVESHAPER.V2) into two poisoned versions that were inadvertently downloaded by OpenAI's macOS app-signing GitHub Actions workflow. Although OpenAI found no evidence of certificate exfiltration or user data compromise, the incident exposed the signing credentials for ChatGPT Desktop, Codex, Codex CLI, and Atlas, prompting certificate revocation and mandatory app updates by May 8, 2026. The attack highlights the acute risk of software supply chain compromises against AI product delivery pipelines.

Read the full technical deep-dive on Grid the Grey: https://gridthegrey.com/posts/openai-revokes-macos-app-certificate-after-malicious-axios-supply-chain-incident/