en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugging_Face
1 correction found
hackers hijacked the Hugging Face platform to launch Android-targeted attacks
Reporting on the January 2026 Android malware campaign says Hugging Face was abused as a file host, not hijacked or hacked. Attackers used public repositories to distribute malware, and Hugging Face removed them after notification.
Full reasoning
This wording overstates what happened.
The January 2026 reporting from Bitdefender says the malware campaign used Hugging Face's public-facing infrastructure to host malicious files. Bitdefender's FAQ is explicit: "Was Hugging Face hacked? No. Attackers abused legitimate public repositories."
BleepingComputer's writeup is consistent with that description. It says the campaign was "using the Hugging Face platform as a repository" and that the malicious APK was hosted in a Hugging Face dataset repository and delivered via Hugging Face's CDN. It also reports that Bitdefender informed Hugging Face and Hugging Face removed the datasets containing the malware.
So the evidence supports that attackers abused legitimate public repositories on Hugging Face to distribute Android malware. It does not support the stronger claim that they "hijacked" the Hugging Face platform itself.
2 sources
- Hugging Face Repositories Used to Spread Android RAT
Bitdefender security researchers have identified a new Android malware campaign that used the Hugging Face public-facing infrastructure to host its malicious files... Was Hugging Face hacked? No. Attackers abused legitimate public repositories.
- Hugging Face abused to spread thousands of Android malware variants
A new Android malware campaign is using the Hugging Face platform as a repository... the dropper contacts a server... which returns a redirect to a Hugging Face dataset repository hosting the malicious APK... Bitdefender informed Hugging Face... and the service removed the datasets containing the malware.