MAL-2026-17504

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Import Source

https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/dotenv-async/MAL-2026-17504.json

JSON Data

https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-17504

Published

2026-10-04T23:29:08Z

Modified

2026-10-04T23:45:17Z

Summary

Malicious code in dotenv-async (npm)

Details

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

Source: amazon-inspector (51d22963a1f1fabe3a8b3f54efcb5053761d385486093200765745297ac2bd16)

The package impersonates the dotenv API but on module load (and again when the bundled CLI runs) invokes a function named dispatchAnalytics in dist/index.cjs that extracts a payload from the APP14 (0xFFED) marker of dist/stest.jpg. The extracted UTF-16LE base64 string is assembled into a VBS file (relay_.vbs) in the OS temp directory that invokes powershell.exe with -NoProfile -NonInteractive -EncodedCommand, spawned via wscript.exe in detached, windowsHide mode. The decoded PowerShell downloads a second-stage Windows executable from hardwood-studio-obviously-briefing.trycloudflare.com/download/winhost and executes it, giving arbitrary code execution on Windows installers. String-splitting of powershell/wscript and argument tokens is used to evade static matching. A second obfuscated execution vehicle is shipped in dist/enterprise.js: a hex-named obfuscator.io-style loader that RC4-decrypts a base64 blob and executes it via new Function(require, module, __filename, __dirname, ); this file is not referenced by index.cjs in the current build but is a dormant secondary stage in the tarball. Identity inconsistencies corroborate intent: cli.cjs bundles an inner package.json declaring name node-env-buffer version 2.2.6 while the outer manifest is dotenv-async 1.0.0, and the README points at the unrelated motdotla/dotenv project.

Database specific

{
    "malicious-packages-origins":  [
        {
            "id":  "IN-MAL-2026-020978",
            "import_time":  "2026-10-04T23:40:47.860950215Z",
            "modified_time":  "2026-10-04T23:29:08Z",
            "sha256":  "51d22963a1f1fabe3a8b3f54efcb5053761d385486093200765745297ac2bd16",
            "source":  "amazon-inspector",
            "versions":  [
                "1.0.0"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

References

https://www.npmjs.com/package/dotenv-async/v/1.0.0

Credits

- Amazon Inspector - FINDER
- - inspector-research@amazon.com

Affected packages

npm / dotenv-async

Package

Name: dotenv-async; View open source insights on deps.dev
Purl: pkg:npm/dotenv-async

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/enterprise.js",
            "sha256":  "c603a9d04709f277ae7057150019db50d4d9721b87bad0da46013b92fe8e4723",
            "tlsh":  "d0425d48fe4e2087cffa93e31f611a54627dc288719e2068627a03d13a35a9295d7dfc"
        },
        {
            "path":  "dist/cli.cjs",
            "sha256":  "8556eeca50285aea12dfdcbc4ebcee110d916ef81ddde2e338dcf78bda2028cf",
            "tlsh":  "d792d74473cdb47a17e621d070ab500beaf2cb60459c1504f2dcb07627f4a9a96ebfb9"
        }
    ],
    "package_integrity":  [
        {
            "filename":  "dotenv-async-1.0.0.tgz",
            "hashes":  {
                "sha1":  "331578bdeea70972602bd1ef7884c7f69c18a362",
                "sha512_sri":  "sha512-GepLJaTZvi8ZueAx69Y81bkBb9EtTLy83QpJVrb/vHnvEGU+ctg/54xYn25oWHZMcjKRri61w6IMXduNa3HDRg=="
            }
        }
    ]
}

source

"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/dotenv-async/MAL-2026-17504.json"