MAL-2026-14168

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/chalk-util/MAL-2026-14168.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-14168
Published
2026-08-18T23:59:14Z
Modified
2026-08-19T00:30:12.878434810Z
Summary
Malicious code in chalk-util (npm)
Details

-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-

Source: amazon-inspector (4a61959df09375862d2802f22d92ed1a26066bf2ddc2618b76f89666567a91f4)

chalk-util@1.0.0 is a typosquat of chalk whose index.js exports an empty object; the package's only functional code is scripts/postinstall.js. On npm install, postinstall XOR-decodes an obfuscated URL (key 'stf2026') pointing to an https://github.com/... asset, downloads it to %TEMP%\main.exe on Windows (and via a decoded PowerShell bridge command on WSL-detected Linux, identified through /proc/version), and spawns it detached with a hidden window. The same postinstall reconstructs the bare IP 193.70.34.101 via ['193','70','34','101'].join('.') and POSTs a JSON body containing the resolved platform label to http://193.70.34.101:20099/vote over plain HTTP as an install beacon. Four separate byte-array constants (ADDONENC, BRIDGELAUNCHERENC, BRIDGESCRIPTPREENC, BRIDGESCRIPTPOST_ENC) are XOR-decoded at runtime to hide the fetch URL and the shell command passed to exec(). The auto-execute-on-default-install gate is satisfied via the postinstall lifecycle hook; the fetched binary contents are attacker-controlled and unverified.

Database specific 
{
    "malicious-packages-origins": [
        {
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "sha256": "4a61959df09375862d2802f22d92ed1a26066bf2ddc2618b76f89666567a91f4",
            "modified_time": "2026-08-18T23:59:14Z",
            "import_time": "2026-08-19T00:21:13.04425525Z",
            "versions": [
                "1.0.0"
            ],
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-018250"
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

npm / chalk-util

Package

Name
chalk-util
View open source insights on deps.dev
Purl
pkg:npm/chalk-util

Affected ranges

Affected versions

1.*
1.0.0

Database specific

source 
"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/chalk-util/MAL-2026-14168.json"
indicators 
{
    "evidence_files": [
        {
            "tlsh": "b2d13fca1ef59035874bf96884cf9d13b2a6c207320e4a65ff8f42107f5793c85a69e9",
            "sha256": "84f5723a8c602913eba8f239a6cd19485dc399ef40ad4ec7eb1dfd031bfd6582",
            "path": "scripts/postinstall.js"
        },
        {
            "sha256": "ac13991093efce1485ecbfa7fa9fa75895e04161fd015d3699fbd07179e829ec",
            "path": "index.js"
        }
    ],
    "package_integrity": [
        {
            "filename": "chalk-util-1.0.0.tgz",
            "hashes": {
                "sha512_sri": "sha512-GBRHQkJ4Mx5VmX7k2DfCjOJN35AGefwek6h3ctiFVefVJVzwDfqTsrdLyZHOelcX3iMIUE5/4j9ghMKGA/AxOg==",
                "sha1": "cd4b0a5fff912d48ca5a647cb46c048b91c51eba"
            }
        }
    ]
}
cwes 
[
    {
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.",
        "cweId": "CWE-506"
    }
]