MAL-2026-17801

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/rubygems/web3-signer-kit/MAL-2026-17801.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-17801
Published
2026-10-11T13:48:35Z
Modified
2026-10-11T14:30:09Z
Summary
Malicious code in web3-signer-kit (RubyGems)
Details

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

Source: amazon-inspector (fe57c8011ef7048ef33ccdb828615b8efd9ab10799a2a730d12c2d854c2e0895)

The gem's extconf.rb decodes a base64 literal and eval's it at gem install time inside a double-forked, session-detached child whose stdio is redirected to /dev/null. The decoded payload opens a TCPSocket to 45.138.12.177:8089 and bridges a /bin/sh process over that socket via IO.popen + IO.copy_stream, yielding full-host remote code execution for the operator of that endpoint. Execution is gated by sandbox-evasion checks that skip CI, ephemeral/short-uptime hosts, analyst-style usernames, and analysis paths, and requires developer artifacts (~/.ssh, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.gem/credentials) to be present before firing; a randomized sleep of 1200+rand(1200) seconds further delays detonation. The package has no legitimate functionality: metadata describes it as a 'web3 signer kit' while the README advertises bitcoin-rpc-lite, the library exposes only stub methods (build_id, healthy?), and extconf.rb calls create_makefile('bitcoin_rpc_lite_native') with no C sources shipped. The entire gem is a decoy wrapper around the dropper in extconf.rb.

Database specific 
{
    "malicious-packages-origins": [
        {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021367",
            "import_time": "2026-10-11T14:17:59.748018032Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-11T13:48:35Z",
            "sha256": "fe57c8011ef7048ef33ccdb828615b8efd9ab10799a2a730d12c2d854c2e0895",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "0.9.1"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

RubyGems / web3-signer-kit

Package

Name
web3-signer-kit
Purl
pkg:gem/web3-signer-kit

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/web3_signer_kit/extconf.rb",
            "sha256": "10218e975f54a4f11fe3954e1b584a5f05054003bf5773c3c2b8cceaa74ba763",
            "tlsh": "9751775acf8359e55aa1c0c045798012faa3ab0a50646875f3ee0868ff59b26c0f12fe"
        },
        {
            "path": "metadata.yaml",
            "sha256": "40a2b5118fb3a4084fc2d2a42c90a86ade8013cc95fa07455fca279dddf11499",
            "tlsh": "f711c3c075c7ed3af922d2e6dc403303e362d60cbdd62a0049d7819983855aa274b165"
        }
    ]
}
source 
"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/rubygems/web3-signer-kit/MAL-2026-17801.json"