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A ClickFix attack is a social-engineering trick that presents a fake CAPTCHA, browser error, or other problem and tells you to copy and run a command to “fix” it. The command can launch malware. A website’s verification should never require you to open Windows Run, Terminal, or PowerShell and paste text.
How a ClickFix attack works
ClickFix campaigns can bring people to a deceptive page through a phishing message, a malicious advertisement, or a compromised website. The page imitates a familiar service or displays a plausible-looking verification prompt or error. Instead of asking you to complete a normal CAPTCHA, it instructs you to open a command interface and paste text.
Some pages silently copy a command to the clipboard when you click a button. The visitor may then be told to open Windows Run, Windows Terminal, or PowerShell and paste and execute what was copied. The exact steps vary by campaign; the common element is that the page persuades the visitor to initiate command execution on the device.
That is what makes ClickFix a social-engineering technique: the person, rather than an ordinary click or download alone, is manipulated into starting the process. The command may display reassuring text, but that does not make it safe. Microsoft says this user-driven execution can help campaigns get past conventional automated security measures. Microsoft’s analysis of ClickFix describes the technique and its lures.
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What can happen after someone runs the command?
There is no single ClickFix payload or guaranteed outcome. Microsoft has documented campaigns deploying information stealers, remote-access tools, loaders, and rootkits. Depending on the campaign, activity may involve credential or information theft, additional malware, or ransomware-related operations.
TerminalFix: a documented multistage campaign
In a report dated 28 August 2026, Microsoft described TerminalFix, which used a fake Cloudflare verification overlay to induce PowerShell execution. The documented intrusion included multiple stages, DLL sideloading, persistence, Active Directory reconnaissance, and a reverse tunnel. These are findings about that campaign, not a prediction of what every fake CAPTCHA will do. Microsoft’s TerminalFix report provides the campaign details.
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Interlock ransomware and other reported lures
A joint advisory from the FBI, CISA, HHS, and MS-ISAC dated 22 July 2025 describes Interlock ransomware actors using a fake CAPTCHA and Windows Run instructions to induce execution of a Base64-encoded PowerShell process. This is another campaign-specific example; it does not mean that every ClickFix prompt leads to Interlock ransomware. Read the joint Interlock Ransomware advisory.
A MyCERT advisory listing dated 4 October 2026 flags ClickFix lures involving fake CAPTCHA prompts and copy-and-paste execution, and mentions macOS, infostealer, credential, and wallet-theft themes. Those details are available here only as listing information, rather than a fully reviewed advisory. View the MyCERT advisory listing.
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How to recognize a ClickFix lure
- It asks you to use a system tool: a webpage’s “verification” or “fix” tells you to open Run, Terminal, PowerShell, or another command interface.
- It asks you to paste text you did not write: a page may have copied it to your clipboard without making the contents trustworthy or obvious.
- It disguises command execution as an ordinary website step: the page may resemble a CAPTCHA, error message, or familiar service, but the command request is the key warning sign.
- It arrives through a route you normally trust: phishing, malicious ads, and compromised websites can all be used, so a familiar-looking page or site is not proof the prompt is legitimate.
Simply viewing a suspicious page does not, by itself, mean a ClickFix command has been run. The described technique relies on persuading a person to execute it, although other kinds of web threats can behave differently.
What to do if a page asks you to run a command
- Do not paste or run the text. Close the page rather than following instructions to open a command interface.
- Reach the service another way if needed. Use its known official app or type its established address yourself instead of using links or prompts on the suspicious page.
- If this is a work device, report the page. Contact your organization’s IT or security team through a trusted channel so they can assess the device and warn others if necessary.
What to do if you already ran it
Act promptly: contact your organization’s IT or security team, or a trusted security professional if the device is personal. Avoid using the affected device for sensitive activity while it is being assessed. Treat credentials and active sessions as potentially exposed until responders advise you otherwise. If you need to contact IT or change sensitive credentials, use a separate trusted device when possible and follow the responders’ instructions.
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For the TerminalFix campaign, Microsoft recommends investigating affected devices as possible network pivot points and checking for credential exposure and lateral movement. That guidance is specific to the reported campaign, but it illustrates why a command’s apparent success message or a lack of obvious symptoms should not substitute for a proper assessment.
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Train users to recognize the behavior
Teach staff that website verification should not require pasting commands into system tools. The useful warning is the requested action—not whether the page looks convincing or whether the command appears to produce harmless text.
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Limit command-launch surfaces where practical
Organizations can restrict access to command-launch surfaces such as the Windows Run dialog where business needs allow. Hardening can reduce opportunities for this specific interaction, but it does not replace user awareness or investigation.
Monitor execution and follow-on activity
Monitor for suspicious command execution and activity that follows it. Microsoft notes that execution through the Windows Run dialog can leave a RunMRU registry trace that may assist an investigation. However, failed process execution does not create such an entry, so an empty RunMRU key does not prove that no attempt occurred. For a suspected TerminalFix infection, investigate possible network pivoting, lateral movement, and credential exposure.
These measures serve different purposes: training can make a user less likely to follow a lure, configuration hardening can limit access to particular launch surfaces, and monitoring can help identify execution or later activity. Microsoft’s cited material describes these defensive steps; it does not establish a controlled comparison of their effectiveness.
What Microsoft’s reported figures do—and do not—show
In its 21 August 2025 analysis, Microsoft said it observed campaigns targeting “thousands of enterprise and end-user devices globally every day.” That is Microsoft’s observation from its threat-intelligence work, not a comprehensive worldwide incident count or a measure of how many devices were successfully infected. The same analysis says Microsoft first observed ClickFix in email campaigns from March to June 2024 and documented a May 2025 campaign targeting Portuguese organizations that later appeared in several other countries. Those are dated examples, not current prevalence estimates. Read Microsoft’s dated analysis and context.
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