Imagine visiting a website and being asked to complete a CAPTCHA—only to unknowingly trigger a malware infection. In early 2026, security researchers identified a sophisticated ClickFix infostealer campaign that uses fake CAPTCHA pages to deceive victims and steal sensitive data.
Unlike traditional malware, this campaign exploits human interaction to bypass automated security sandboxes, making it particularly dangerous for both consumers and corporate environments.
In this article, we break down the ClickFix infection chain, its advanced persistence and process injection techniques, and actionable strategies to protect your organization.
How the ClickFix Campaign Works
Initial Access via Fake CAPTCHA
The campaign begins when a user visits a compromised website that displays a seemingly legitimate CAPTCHA verification page.
- Victims are tricked into copying a malicious PowerShell command to their clipboard and executing it manually.
- This manual execution bypasses traditional security sandboxes that focus on downloaded files.
- The malware verifies the clipboard content via API calls before proceeding, ensuring the user’s engagement triggers the infection.
Key insight: Human interaction is leveraged as a security bypass technique, highlighting the increasing sophistication of social engineering in malware campaigns.
Download and Execution
Once executed, the PowerShell command downloads the primary payload from the attacker-controlled IP 91.92.240.219.
The malware performs a multi-stage infection targeting:
- 25+ web browsers
- Cryptocurrency wallets, including MetaMask
- Enterprise VPN configurations
Before exfiltrating data, the malware checks for:
- Virtual machine environments
- Active security tools
This ensures the malware operates only in real, unmonitored systems, enhancing stealth and persistence.
Process Injection and Persistence
ClickFix uses advanced process injection to remain hidden:
- Downloads position-independent shellcode (
cptch.bin) generated via the Donut framework. - Allocates memory within benign processes, like
svchost.exe, using VirtualAlloc API. - Rotates payload filenames (e.g.,
cptchbuild.bin) to evade hash-based detection. - Ensures long-term persistence by modifying the RunMRU registry key, re-executing the PowerShell command on startup.
Operational note: An error in the attacker’s variable $finalPayload triggered detection by Microsoft Defender, but most attempts go unnoticed without endpoint monitoring.
Impact and Risk
The ClickFix campaign grants attackers:
- Access to critical credentials
- Control over cryptocurrency wallets and corporate VPNs
- Ability to pivot deeper into corporate networks
- Potential monetization of compromised accounts via financial theft or ransomware staging
Key takeaway: The combination of clipboard exploitation, process injection, and persistence makes this campaign highly effective and difficult to detect.
Detection and Mitigation Strategies
User Awareness
- Educate employees and users about the risks of copying commands from web pages.
- Train staff to verify URLs and CAPTCHA sources before interaction.
Endpoint Protection
- Monitor unusual PowerShell execution on endpoints.
- Implement rules to flag clipboard data reading by browser processes.
- Track RunMRU registry modifications indicative of persistence mechanisms.
Network and Threat Intelligence
- Block known attacker IPs and infrastructure.
- Analyze unusual outbound traffic for command-and-control communications.
- Rotate and monitor detection signatures for renamed payloads.
Proactive approach: Combine technical monitoring with user education to prevent initial access and detect early-stage infections.
Expert Insights
- Risk Analysis: Clipboard-based malware bypasses traditional sandbox defenses and targets sensitive credentials and crypto assets.
- Compliance Consideration: Enterprises handling sensitive financial or identity data must ensure endpoint monitoring aligns with ISO 27001, SOC 2, and other cybersecurity frameworks.
- Security Recommendation: Implement behavioral detection, endpoint logging, and strict execution policies for PowerShell and browser processes.
FAQs
1. What is the ClickFix campaign?
A malware campaign using fake CAPTCHA pages to trick victims into executing malicious PowerShell commands, resulting in credential and crypto theft.
2. How does it bypass security sandboxes?
By relying on human interaction, the malware executes manually rather than through file downloads, evading automated sandbox analysis.
3. What does ClickFix target?
Over 25 web browsers, cryptocurrency wallets like MetaMask, and enterprise VPN configurations.
4. How does the malware maintain persistence?
It modifies the RunMRU registry key to re-execute the payload at startup and uses process injection for stealth.
5. How can organizations detect and prevent it?
Monitor PowerShell activity, watch for clipboard access by browsers, and educate users to avoid running commands from web pages.
Conclusion
The ClickFix infostealer campaign highlights the growing sophistication of human-interaction malware. By exploiting fake CAPTCHAs, clipboard access, and stealthy process injection, attackers can steal credentials, financial data, and enterprise assets with minimal detection.
Organizations must adopt a layered defense strategy, combining endpoint monitoring, user education, and behavioral detection rules to stay ahead of these emerging threats.
Next step: Audit PowerShell execution, monitor clipboard access, and educate users on safe browsing practices to prevent malware infiltration.
