MAL-2026-17785

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/rubygems/erc20-approve-audit/MAL-2026-17785.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-17785
Published
2026-10-11T13:46:43Z
Modified
2026-10-11T14:30:07Z
Summary
Malicious code in erc20-approve-audit (RubyGems)
Details

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

Source: amazon-inspector (e43c1d294111db5834d006f064d33001b463860783ed8662a5f41a8e7354e4b8)

The gem's native extension script, which runs automatically during gem install, base64-decodes a Ruby payload and launches it via a double-forked, detached, session-leader background process (setsid, /dev/null reopen, 20-40 minute delay). The decoded payload opens a TCP socket to the hardcoded bare IP 45.138.12.177:8089 and pipes a local /bin/sh to the socket in an infinite reconnect loop, giving a remote operator full shell control of the installer's host. Execution is gated by anti-analysis checks that suppress the payload inside CI providers (CI, GITHUB_ACTIONS, TRAVIS, JENKINS, GITLAB_CI, CODESPACES), ephemeral/sandbox hosts (uvm, firecracker, sandbox, vagrant), analyst-shaped usernames and working directories (/tmp, /var/tmp, /opt/rubygems, /workspace), and short machine uptimes (<1800s), firing only when developer-signal files are present (/.ssh, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.gem/credentials, ~/.bundle, ~/.npmrc). The gem's advertised identity does not match its shipped contents: the name is erc20-approve-audit but the README and the native makefile target are bitcoin-rpc-lite / bitcoin_rpc_lite_native, and the Ruby library surface is a two-method stub (build_id='ok', healthy?=true) with no functional code.

Database specific 
{
    "malicious-packages-origins": [
        {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021355",
            "import_time": "2026-10-11T14:17:58.699850046Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-11T13:46:43Z",
            "sha256": "e43c1d294111db5834d006f064d33001b463860783ed8662a5f41a8e7354e4b8",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "0.9.1"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

RubyGems / erc20-approve-audit

Package

Name
erc20-approve-audit
Purl
pkg:gem/erc20-approve-audit

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/erc20_approve_audit/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/erc20-approve-audit/MAL-2026-17785.json"