When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works . Hackers exploited an unpatched security vulnerability on JDownloader's website and used it to serve malware-laced downloads.

May 8, 2026 08:04 EDT

The website for the popular download manager, JDownloader, has been compromised by attackers who spent over a day serving malicious installers to Windows and Linux users, replacing the legitimate download files with malware.

The JDownloader team first confirmed the hack yesterday and immediately took down the website for a full investigation. The action came after a user on Reddit reported that fresh downloads were being flagged by Windows SmartScreen and listed a suspicious publisher, as one "Zipline LLC", instead of the expected "AppWork" signature. The user's post quickly gained traction and prompted a developer from the team to step in and confirm the breach.

The JDownloader team said that its initial investigation confirmed a limited but serious breach.…