MAL-2026-16408

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/pypi/snap-queue/MAL-2026-16408.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-16408
Published
2026-09-22T18:42:22Z
Modified
2026-09-23T02:30:05Z
Summary
Malicious code in snap-queue (PyPI)
Details

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

Source: amazon-inspector (e0bb29642def9150e89bacf4da4e1a64f7bc972cd145053cbb0feee0baa768f3)

The sdist's setup.py defines a _wus_boot() function that is invoked at module top-level before setup(...), so it runs automatically on pip install snap-queue. The function uses subprocess.Popen to launch pythonw.exe (replacing python.exe in sys.executable) running a sibling file _snapqueue_core.py with creationflags=0x08000000 (CREATE_NO_WINDOW), and wraps the whole call in a blanket try/except: pass. Standard modules are aliased under underscore names (_os, _sys, _sp) to reduce visual prominence. The launched _snapqueue_core.py is undocumented in README and package metadata and is unrelated to the advertised FIFO-queue functionality. The combined shape — install-time execution, deliberate console-window suppression on Windows, error-swallowing, and detachment of the child from the pip process — is a hidden install-time stager that hands control on the installer's machine to undocumented sibling code the moment the package is installed.

Source: kam193 (62bf582784fd41b3484157f6454ddcb6ab2ae10a5d93abeb19a5bfa5642b7e64)

During installation, the package attempts to silently execute code. In analyzed versions, the payload file was missing.

Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.

Campaign: 2026-09-snap-queue

Reasons (based on the campaign):

  • The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.
Database specific 
{
    "malicious-packages-origins":  [
        {
            "id":  "pypi/2026-09-snap-queue/snap-queue",
            "import_time":  "2026-09-22T18:44:15.285683562Z",
            "modified_time":  "2026-09-22T18:42:22.198932Z",
            "sha256":  "62bf582784fd41b3484157f6454ddcb6ab2ae10a5d93abeb19a5bfa5642b7e64",
            "source":  "kam193",
            "versions":  [
                "1.0.0"
            ]
        },
        {
            "id":  "pypi/2026-09-snap-queue/snap-queue",
            "import_time":  "2026-09-22T19:16:00.430452065Z",
            "modified_time":  "2026-09-22T18:42:22.198932Z",
            "sha256":  "66d21211753dd05cd26db975d94b4567f80e382f6bbfef1f3202595e73a20724",
            "source":  "kam193",
            "versions":  [
                "1.0.0"
            ]
        },
        {
            "id":  "IN-MAL-2026-020329",
            "import_time":  "2026-09-23T02:26:00.069486802Z",
            "modified_time":  "2026-09-23T01:51:03Z",
            "sha256":  "e0bb29642def9150e89bacf4da4e1a64f7bc972cd145053cbb0feee0baa768f3",
            "source":  "amazon-inspector",
            "versions":  [
                "1.0.0"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

PyPI / snap-queue

Package

Name
snap-queue
View open source insights on deps.dev
Purl
pkg:pypi/snap-queue

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":  "setup.py",
            "sha256":  "5811bccc1108a96fe402483138d9bbae0d9b1e0c22d46e292bde310f5da15152",
            "tlsh":  "12111200c91514b08647e19d194688a91f3b66a378d2b0e579dcc1d07f886f686b9aa6"
        }
    ],
    "package_integrity":  [
        {
            "filename":  "snap_queue-1.0.0.tar.gz",
            "hashes":  {
                "blake2b_256":  "ac54369ccfa1c796764948293044590d8869075c4682cd34317937c2c728d90c",
                "md5":  "2319f04e55102e6ab41c5ce19c543aac",
                "sha256":  "28e86fd26e0b5965b4afb2d6efc0550a61522418d410f1d85577ef24b1e9fc05"
            }
        }
    ]
}
source 
"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/pypi/snap-queue/MAL-2026-16408.json"