How to remove GodLoader from infected systems

What kind of malware is GodLoader?

GodLoader is malware delivered by exploiting the Godot Engine, a popular open-source game engine. Potential victims include users of Godot-developed games downloading mods or other content from a GitHub network known as Stargazers Ghost Network. Threat actors have been observed using GodLoader to drop cryptocurrency miners and information stealers.

More about GodLoader

The exploitation of the Godot Engine enables attackers to avoid detection, with GodLoader remaining undetected by nearly all antivirus engines on VirusTotal. Moreover, cybercriminals can infect multiple platforms with GodLoader, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. On Linux and macOS, GodLoader functions similarly to the Windows version.

Godot Engine uses certain files called .pck files to store game assets (e.g., images, sounds, and scripts). These files allow developers to update or add new content without changing the main game itself. Some of these .pck files also contain GDScript, which is code that can change how the game works when it is loaded.

Malicious actors exploit this system by hiding harmful code inside these .pck files. When the game loads these files, the malicious code runs and can download more malware, making it hard to detect. Since GDScript is a powerful coding language, attackers can hide their actions and bypass security measures like virtual machines or sandbox detection.

Threat actors have been observed using GodLoader to deliver malicious payloads like RedLine, an information-stealing malware that targets login credentials, crypto wallets, messaging clients, and more, and XMRig, a cryptocurrency miner that uses system resources to mine Monero coins.

Having a computer infected with GodLoader can lead to serious issues, including identity theft and monetary loss. Additionally, the system's performance may suffer due to the use of resources by cryptocurrency miners like XMRig, which can slow down processes and overheat the device.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while the Godot Engine is a legitimate game development tool, its flexibility has been exploited by attackers to create custom loaders that bypass traditional security measures. Godot’s design allows malware to spread across multiple platforms and helps attackers evade detection.

The GodLoader malware is distributed through the sophisticated Stargazers Ghost Network, which disguises malicious software as trusted applications, allowing it to spread rapidly and widely.

How did GodLoader infiltrate my computer?

The GodLoader malware is spread through the Stargazers Ghost Network on GitHub, which helps make the malware look like safe software. In just a couple of months, around 200 fake repositories and over 225 Stargazers were used to trick users into downloading it.

Attackers use real game files to secretly add malicious scripts, often hidden as mods or extra content, which then infect players' systems. Their attacks resemble DLL hijacking, where they exploit the game's trusted system to load harmful code.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Files and software should be downloaded from trustworthy sources, such as official web pages and app stores. Other sources (e.g., questionable sites, P2P networks, third-party downloaders) should be avoided. The operating system and installed software should be regularly updated, and a reliable security tool should be utilized for protection.

Also, links and files in suspicious emails should not be opened, and ads, pop-ups, and similar content on dubious pages should not be clicked.

If you believe that your computer is already infected, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

GodLoader distributed using GitHub:

Recently, Rémi Verschelde, a maintainer of the Godot Engine and a member of its security team, stated this:

As the Check Point Research report states, the vulnerability is not specific to Godot. The Godot Engine is a programming system with a scripting language. It is akin to, for instance, the Python and Ruby runtimes. It is possible to write malicious programs in any programming language. We do not believe that Godot is particularly more or less suited to do so than other such programs.

 

Users who merely have a Godot game or editor installed on their system are not specifically at risk. We encourage people to only execute software from trusted sources.

 

For some more technical details:

 

Godot does not register a file handler for ".pck" files. This means that a malicious actor always has to ship the Godot runtime together with a .pck file. The user will always have to unpack the runtime together with the .pck to the same location and then execute the runtime. There is no way for a malicious actor to create a "one click exploit", barring other OS-level vulnerabilities. If such an OS-level vulnerability were used then Godot would not be a particularly attractive option due to the size of the runtime.

 

This is similar to writing malicious software in Python or Ruby, the malicious actor will have to ship a python.exe or ruby.exe together with their malicious program.

How to remove malware manually?

Most trojan infections can be removed by running a full system scan with Combo Cleaner. The full manual procedure below is for cases where automatic removal failed, where you want to verify a scan caught everything, or where the threat has multiple persistence points.

Tools you'll need

Combo Cleaner Antivirus 7-days free trial

Recommended primary scanner. VB100 certified. The 7-day free trial is available.

Microsoft Defender Offline Free · built-in

Built into Windows. Boots to a clean environment to catch rootkits.

Process Explorer Free

From Microsoft Sysinternals. Better than Task Manager - shows full paths and signatures.

Autoruns Free

From Microsoft Sysinternals. Lists every place malware can persist on your system.

Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT) Free

Official Microsoft on-demand scanner. Always-current signatures - expires every 10 days.

Phase 1~ 5 min

Contain - limit the damage

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1

Disconnect from the network

30 secNo tool needed

Unplug your Ethernet cable and turn off Wi-Fi. If you're on a laptop, the airplane-mode key works fastest.

Why this matters

Many trojans exfiltrate data - saved browser passwords, banking sessions, screenshots - and accept remote commands. Cutting the network stops both immediately. Keep it disconnected until Phase 4.

2

Boot into Safe Mode with Networking

3 min

Safe Mode loads a minimal set of drivers and stops most malware from auto-running. "With Networking" lets you download tools - re-enable Wi-Fi only after you've booted in.

Windows 11

Open Settings → System → Recovery. Click Restart now next to Advanced startup.

Your computer will restart into the "Choose an option" menu. Click Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart. After the second reboot, press 5 or F5.

Windows 10

Click the Windows logo, hold Shift, click the Power icon and choose Restart. In the Choose an option screen, click Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart. Press F5.

Windows 8

Go to the Start Screen, type Advanced, select Settings → Advanced startup options → Restart now → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup settings → Restart → F5.

Note: Windows 8 reached end-of-life in January 2023 - running on it puts you at much higher risk of reinfection.

Windows 7

Click Start → Shut Down → Restart → OK. As the system boots, press F8 repeatedly until the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, then choose Safe Mode with Networking.

Note: Windows 7 reached end-of-life in January 2020 - running on it puts you at much higher risk of reinfection.

Phase 2~ 15 min

Identify - find what's hiding

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3

Inspect running processes with Process Explorer

Tool: Process Explorer5 min

Download Process Explorer from Microsoft Sysinternals. Run it as Administrator. Click Options → Verify Image Signatures and View → Lower Pane View → DLLs.

Sort by "Verified Signer." Anything unsigned running from %AppData%, %LocalAppData%, %Temp%, or %ProgramData% is suspicious. Right-click → Properties to see the full image path. Right-click → "Search Online" to look up unfamiliar process names.

Why not just Task Manager

Task Manager hides full file paths, doesn't show digital signatures, and groups processes in ways that make malware easy to miss. Process Explorer is the same tool Microsoft engineers use.

4

Map every persistence point with Autoruns

Tool: Autoruns 14.x10 min

Download Autoruns. Right-click Autoruns.exe and choose Run as administrator - without elevation, Autoruns can't inspect protected registry hives.

In the menu, open Options → Hide Microsoft Entries and Options → Hide Empty Locations, then click Refresh.

Modern trojans don't just live in startup. Walk through these tabs and look for unsigned or unfamiliar entries:

• Logon - classic Run/RunOnce keys
• Scheduled Tasks - frequent hiding spot, especially tasks with PowerShell, MSHTA, or rundll32 actions
• Services - unsigned services in non-Microsoft folders
• WMI - Event Subscriptions are a stealthy persistence mechanism (MITRE T1546.003)
• Image Hijacks - Image File Execution Options "Debugger" abuse
• AppInit - DLLs loaded into every GUI process
• Browser plug-ins - unsigned add-ons across all installed browsers

Pro tip

Right-click any suspicious entry → "Jump to Image" to see the actual file. Right-click → "Search Online" opens VirusTotal for the file hash. Don't delete yet - just write down the file paths and entry names. We'll remove them after the scans.

5

Check the hosts file and DNS settings

3 minBuilt into Windows

Trojans often redirect bank, antivirus, and update domains to attacker-controlled servers by editing the hosts file or DNS settings.

Hosts file: Open Notepad as Administrator and open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. Legitimate entries are commented with #. Any uncommented IP-to-domain mapping is suspicious - especially redirects for microsoft.com, windowsupdate, or your bank.

DNS settings: Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run ipconfig /all. Confirm your DNS servers point to your ISP, your router, or a known public resolver (Cloudflare 1.1.1.1, Google 8.8.8.8). Then open Settings → Network & internet → [your adapter] → DNS server assignment and verify both DNS and DNS over HTTPS (DoH) settings haven't been hijacked.

Why this matters

A clean PC with hijacked DNS is still a compromised PC. You'll think you're at chase.com and you'll be at the attacker's clone.

Phase 3~ 60-90 min

Remove - three scans, one cleanup

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No single antivirus catches everything. The order below is intentional: offline scan first (catches rootkits before Windows fully loads), then on-demand scanners on the running system, then manual cleanup of anything they missed.

6

Run Microsoft Defender Offline

Tool: Built into Windows15 min

Reboot to normal Windows. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Scan options. Select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and click Scan now. Your computer will restart into a stripped-down environment and scan before the full operating system loads.

Why this comes first

Rootkits and bootkits hide from any scanner running on the same Windows session that's already infected. A pre-boot offline scan sees the disk before the malware can hide itself.

Recommended antivirus

Combo Cleaner

VB100 certified. Includes anti-trojan, registry/persistence scanning, anti-spyware in one pass. The 7-day free trial is available.

Download Combo Cleaner

7

Run Combo Cleaner full system scan

Tool: Combo Cleaner20-40 min

Install Combo Cleaner and run a full system scan (not the quick scan). Let it complete fully, review the detected threats, and apply the recommended actions. Combo Cleaner will quarantine known trojans and registry persistence.

8

Run Microsoft Safety Scanner as a second-opinion scan

Tool: Microsoft Safety Scanner15 min

Download Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT.exe), Microsoft's free on-demand tool. The binary expires every 10 days, which means every download has the latest signatures. Run a full scan after Combo Cleaner to catch anything one engine alone might miss.

Why a second scan

Different scanning engines catch different threats. Running an additional Microsoft scan after Combo Cleaner is the single most underused verification step in malware removal.

9

Manually remove anything still listed in Autoruns

Tool: Autoruns10 min

Reopen Autoruns. Anything you flagged in Step 4 that's still present hasn't been caught by the automated scans. For each remaining suspicious entry: right-click → Delete in Autoruns (this removes the persistence registration), then navigate to the file path and delete the actual file. Empty the Recycle Bin.

Important

Some malware files reappear after deletion because something else on the system recreates them. If you delete a file and it returns within minutes, you have a remaining persistence point that Autoruns didn't show - usually a service or scheduled task running under SYSTEM. Re-run the scans from Steps 6-8 or proceed to a clean install (see end of guide).

Phase 4~ 15 min

Recover - restore browsers and security

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10

Reset browsers and clear notification permissions

5 min

Trojans and adware frequently hijack browsers - change the default search engine, install rogue extensions, or grant themselves notification permissions to keep displaying scam pop-ups even after the malware is gone.

• Chrome: visit chrome://settings/reset and click "Restore settings to their original defaults." Then visit chrome://settings/content/notifications and remove any unfamiliar sites.
• Edge: visit edge://settings/reset. Then check edge://settings/content/notifications.
• Firefox: open about:support and click Refresh Firefox (Firefox uses "Refresh," not "Reset"). Then check Settings → Privacy & Security → Permissions → Notifications.

Review installed extensions in each browser and remove anything you don't recognize, especially extensions you didn't install yourself.

11

Re-enable Defender, Tamper Protection, and update everything

10 min

Many trojans disable security software. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Manage settings and confirm Real-time protection, Cloud-delivered protection, and Tamper Protection are all turned on. Tamper Protection prevents malware from disabling Defender silently.

Then run Windows Update (Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates) and update your browsers and applications. The infection vector that let the trojan in originally usually involves outdated software.

Phase 5~ 15 min + 7 days

Verify & secure

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12

Change passwords from a clean device

20 min⚠ Critical

If the trojan was an info-stealer (Lumma, RedLine, Vidar, and similar are extremely common), assume every password saved in your browser is compromised. Change them from a different, known-clean device - your phone is fine if it's not infected.

Recommended order:

1. Primary email first - it's the recovery hub for everything else
2. Banking and financial accounts
3. Password manager master password (if you use one)
4. Social media, shopping, and remaining accounts

Where available, enable phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (passkeys / FIDO2 hardware keys / authenticator apps) - SMS-based MFA is bypassable by sophisticated attackers.

13

Verify the clean and monitor for 7 days

5 min + 1 week monitoring

Reconnect to the network and run one final full scan with Combo Cleaner. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and switch to the Startup apps tab - confirm nothing suspicious has reappeared.

Over the next 7 days, watch for symptom recurrence: unexpected high CPU usage, unknown processes returning, browser redirects, or pop-ups. If anything returns, you missed a persistence point and the procedure needs to be repeated - or you may have a deeper compromise that requires a clean install.

When to clean install Windows instead

Manual removal isn't always the right answer. Reinstalling Windows from scratch is the only way to be 100% certain when:

• The malware reappears after every removal attempt
• A bootkit or UEFI rootkit was detected (this class of threat sits below the operating system and survives a normal Windows reinstall)
• A confirmed credential-theft trojan ran with administrator privileges (Lumma, RedLine, Vidar) - the system likely has multiple unknown payloads
• The PC is used for online banking, business email, or anything where partial doubt isn't acceptable

A clean install is a 30-60 minute process: Windows 11 reinstall via Settings → System → Recovery → Reset this PC → Remove everything → Cloud download. Back up documents to external storage first, scan the backup with Combo Cleaner before restoring it, and reinstall applications fresh - never restore them from a backup of the infected system.

Important: Manual removal requires advanced computer skills. If you're not confident identifying system files from malicious files, run an automated scan with Combo Cleaner and Windows Defender and stop there - that path catches the vast majority of consumer trojans without the risk of breaking Windows by deleting the wrong file.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

My computer is infected with GodLoader malware, should I format my storage device to get rid of it?

Usually, malware can be removed using reputable security tools and without formatting devices. However, since GodLoader is currently undetectable by most antivirus tools, formatting the storage device may be required to eliminate it.

What are the biggest issues that malware can cause?

Malware can lead to problems like identity theft and financial loss. It can also slow down system performance, weaken security, and grant unauthorized access to devices. In some instances, the malware may spread to other devices or networks and inject more malware on already infected computers.

What is the purpose of GodLoader?

Threat actors use GodLoader to deliver and execute malicious payloads (e.g., RedLine or XMRig) on infected devices.

How did GodLoader infiltrate my computer?

GodLoader likely infiltrated your computer through a malicious game or mod created with the Godot Engine. Attackers disguise the malware as legitimate content, often delivered via compromised repositories on platforms like GitHub.

Will Combo Cleaner protect me from malware?

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove nearly all known malware infections. However, as mentioned earlier, GodLoader remains undetectable by many antivirus tools and cannot be removed using tools that are unable to detect the malware.