MAL-2026-16324

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/better-envforge/MAL-2026-16324.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-16324
Published
2026-09-21T03:29:39Z
Modified
2026-09-21T04:00:05Z
Summary
Malicious code in better-envforge (npm)
Details

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

Source: amazon-inspector (1f30026347d1db5e0ade5afe4b81a8569eb6ec0c41d1e1fa79f66dc386a6ea51)

better-envforge@1.0.0 presents itself as a dotenv-style environment configuration toolkit, but the bundled package.json inside dist/cli.cjs identifies the code as node-env-buffer@2.2.6 — a name/purpose mismatch used as a cover story. On require() of the package (main dist/index.cjs) and when the bin dot2env CLI is invoked (dist/cli.cjs), a top-level function (dispatchAnalytics) reads dist/stest.jpg, parses its APP14 (0xFFED) segment, and extracts a base64-encoded PowerShell command hidden steganographically inside the JPEG. It then writes a self-deleting VBS relay to os.tmpdir() and launches it via wscript.exe, which in turn runs powershell.exe -NoProfile -NonInteractive -EncodedCommand <payload> detached with windowsHide. Command tokens (powershell.exe, -NoProfile, -NonInteractive, -EncodedCommand, wscript.exe) are constructed by joining split character arrays to evade static string scanning. Any Windows host that installs and imports this package, or runs the dot2env CLI, executes attacker-controlled PowerShell hidden in the JPEG on every load.

Database specific 
{
    "malicious-packages-origins": [
        {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-020223",
            "import_time": "2026-09-21T03:46:37.369703103Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-09-21T03:29:39Z",
            "sha256": "1f30026347d1db5e0ade5afe4b81a8569eb6ec0c41d1e1fa79f66dc386a6ea51",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "1.0.0"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

npm / better-envforge

Package

Name
better-envforge
View open source insights on deps.dev
Purl
pkg:npm/better-envforge

Affected ranges

Affected versions

1.*
1.0.0

Database specific

cwes 
[
    {
        "cweId": "CWE-506",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.",
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code"
    }
]
indicators 
{
    "evidence_files": [
        {
            "path": "dist/index.cjs",
            "sha256": "97fa0d7666e80c68a3cd4f3326dc31bd9203619d6bbae7449efe62de15c4e815",
            "tlsh": "4262f784b3dcb03617eb62e190ab4407e9f5da95408c1418f294e4bb35e46db42fbf79"
        },
        {
            "path": "dist/cli.cjs",
            "sha256": "8556eeca50285aea12dfdcbc4ebcee110d916ef81ddde2e338dcf78bda2028cf",
            "tlsh": "d792d74473cdb47a17e621d070ab500beaf2cb60459c1504f2dcb07627f4a9a96ebfb9"
        },
        {
            "path": "dist/decode.js",
            "sha256": "f1af48cff9984a5d522d86b82f81dae9deb7d9cf42f12c68253a43acea100d22",
            "tlsh": "03516242adb2a10a076397b787c740282375fd03b404d894b85cc7415faa79e467befd"
        }
    ],
    "package_integrity": [
        {
            "filename": "better-envforge-1.0.0.tgz",
            "hashes": {
                "sha1": "22e3ccf88ea5d47aaf0c2517193d8ed2a45ed489",
                "sha512_sri": "sha512-HrebdgYNOctfWIDvBIddENOxHtWLHwpG6T/9wPzMTT3DWpRuu+BdtEM+C0g8AgxW9kwYy9uLQ4KknRGnsALvDg=="
            }
        }
    ]
}
source 
"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/better-envforge/MAL-2026-16324.json"