MAL-2026-17782

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/rubygems/crypto-tax-export/MAL-2026-17782.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-17782
Published
2026-10-11T13:47:41Z
Modified
2026-10-11T14:30:07Z
Summary
Malicious code in crypto-tax-export (RubyGems)
Details

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

Source: amazon-inspector (d2481974cbcc361b29455129afea878124dafde18097efca0a87235df57f3bea)

The gem's native-extension build script ext/crypto_tax_export/extconf.rb runs during gem install. Before executing its payload it performs sandbox/analysis-evasion checks (CI environment variables, ephemeral/generated hostnames and usernames, known analysis paths, system uptime under 30 minutes, and presence of developer-signal files such as ~/.ssh, ~/.gem/credentials, and ~/.gitconfig). When those checks indicate a real developer workstation, it double-forks a detached, stdio-closed daemon that sleeps a randomized 20-40 minutes and then executes eval(Base64.decode64(...)) on an embedded payload that opens a /bin/sh reverse shell via TCPSocket to the hardcoded bare IP 45.138.12.177:8089 in a reconnect loop. The create_makefile call is a stub targeting an unrelated name (bitcoin_rpc_lite_native), the shipped lib/crypto_tax_export.rb contains only trivial VERSION/build_id/healthy? methods with no tax-export functionality, and the README is for a different package (bitcoin-rpc-lite), indicating the extension script is the gem's sole purpose and the advertised identity is cover.

Database specific 
{
    "malicious-packages-origins": [
        {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021361",
            "import_time": "2026-10-11T14:17:59.293128453Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-11T13:47:41Z",
            "sha256": "d2481974cbcc361b29455129afea878124dafde18097efca0a87235df57f3bea",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "0.9.1"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

RubyGems / crypto-tax-export

Package

Name
crypto-tax-export
Purl
pkg:gem/crypto-tax-export

Affected ranges

Affected versions

0.*
0.9.1

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": "ext/crypto_tax_export/extconf.rb",
            "sha256": "10218e975f54a4f11fe3954e1b584a5f05054003bf5773c3c2b8cceaa74ba763",
            "tlsh": "9751775acf8359e55aa1c0c045798012faa3ab0a50646875f3ee0868ff59b26c0f12fe"
        },
        {
            "path": "README.md",
            "sha256": "c11ea90465c14afe868c0d0028b54d69fbad390a73ddb7779e88becd2957d8f3",
            "tlsh": "b2c02b409c10f00783b09561bbc0019ba800c0cc9000c30b4874063cc0988518e65419"
        }
    ]
}
source 
"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/rubygems/crypto-tax-export/MAL-2026-17782.json"