I installed `headroom-ai[all]` with `uv` on Windows using Python 3.13, and Windows Defender immediately reported three detections for `Trojan:Win64/Lazy!MTB`. The flagged file was a 212 KB `sg.exe` placed in `PythonScripts`, while a 52 MB `ast-grep.exe` appeared alongside it. Both files had the same timestamp. `pip show ast_grep_cli` reported version 0.44.1.
I removed the package, cleared the cache, and changed my passwords. Has anyone else encountered this version being flagged? Is this a known false positive, and what steps can I use to distinguish a compromised package from an antivirus mistake? Should the package or its security team be notified?
2 Answers
This appears to be a known false positive involving the `ast_grep_cli` package and Windows Defender. There is an existing maintainer discussion documenting the detection, so the alert alone doesn’t necessarily mean the package was compromised. Keeping the antivirus quarantine record and comparing package or executable hashes with official release artifacts would still be sensible.
The large `ast-grep.exe` may not be suspicious by itself. When installed through `uv`, the tool environment can include an embedded Python runtime, which explains why the executable or its surrounding installation is much larger than the small helper binary. File size alone isn’t evidence of malware.
Thanks, that’s reassuring. I’ll compare the hashes and review the maintainer’s report before reinstalling.