MAL-2026-14509

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/r4wk-book/MAL-2026-14509.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-14509
Aliases
  • GHSA-jqfp-p3qc-cqm9
Published
2026-08-25T16:36:51Z
Modified
2026-08-26T00:22:42.027188687Z
Summary
Malicious code in r4wk-book (npm)
Details

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

Source: amazon-inspector (7f5cbca68751eb879140f7c896a0dc3c324e9f4dbc8a1651b38b246b299ba4eb)

On npm install, the package's postinstall hook runs node.worker.js, which detaches a background child, waits a jittered delay, and opens a TCP socket to a base64-encoded host:port literal that decodes to 172.16.42.138:1234. It then spawns /bin/sh -i (or cmd.exe on Windows) and pipes the socket to the shell's stdin and the shell's stdout back to the socket, giving whoever controls that address an interactive shell on the installer's machine. The destination is stored as Buffer.from('MTcyLjE2LjQyLjEzODoxMjM0Cg==','base64').toString().split(':') rather than a plain literal, concealing the endpoint. The package.json advertises a generic purpose ("Background sync module for legacy systems") and declares itself as its own dependency (r4wk-book: ^2.2.1), consistent with a throwaway lure rather than a functional library.

Source: ghsa-malware (fca7aeb2a2052ce1bdd6d78ef66f735c8a3f1ab10b00d07d6e9dae8189722728)

Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.

Database specific
{
    "malicious-packages-origins": [
        {
            "import_time": "2026-08-25T17:25:28.265416925Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-08-25T16:36:56Z",
            "ranges": [
                {
                    "type": "SEMVER",
                    "events": [
                        {
                            "introduced": "0"
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ],
            "sha256": "fca7aeb2a2052ce1bdd6d78ef66f735c8a3f1ab10b00d07d6e9dae8189722728",
            "id": "GHSA-jqfp-p3qc-cqm9",
            "source": "ghsa-malware"
        },
        {
            "import_time": "2026-08-25T22:10:01.364873272Z",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "2.2.2"
            ],
            "sha256": "7f5cbca68751eb879140f7c896a0dc3c324e9f4dbc8a1651b38b246b299ba4eb",
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-018739",
            "modified_time": "2026-08-25T21:44:06Z"
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

npm / r4wk-book

Package

Affected ranges

Type
SEMVER
Events
Introduced
0Unknown introduced version / All previous versions are affected

Affected versions

2.*
2.2.2

Database specific

cwes
[
    {
        "cweId": "CWE-506",
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature."
    },
    {
        "cweId": "CWE-506",
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature."
    }
]
indicators
{
    "evidence_files": [
        {
            "tlsh": "a2211548f67b562c13f205f19633a937061760003327caf8771d9651af5372eb1a76da",
            "sha256": "560ea04945fdf6c2ffaf1e3c70492a193209d536a8476d23e093a0efd906ea44",
            "path": ".worker.js"
        },
        {
            "tlsh": "1dd05b14cc60a77375ca29bd587c514259701d57510cad1e65cf5048434d1fa74ffaa6",
            "sha256": "2306bfdde79e2a90edc140a9817d96ab8508802d30b94fd9a558ac67235cb4f5",
            "path": "package.json"
        }
    ]
}
source
"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/r4wk-book/MAL-2026-14509.json"