MAL-2026-18184

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/formatting-subtitles/MAL-2026-18184.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-18184
Published
2026-10-22T06:11:06Z
Modified
2026-10-22T06:45:04Z
Summary
Malicious code in formatting-subtitles (npm)
Details

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

Source: amazon-inspector (25577370189f57a5678b2f2c45e212abfc79a3675dc7d51581f633e78aba47a6)

package.json declares preinstall: sh./prepare.js && exit 0. prepare.js is shaped like JavaScript (ending with console.log('hello world')) but is executed by /bin/sh, which does not treat /**... */ as a comment. Inside that block, sh evaluates two $(...) command substitutions: one issues a GET to the hardcoded collector https://webhook.site/9e8c8742-3102-4716-aa8b-e150e9e84fe7/stats_1, and the other downloads https://api.github.com/gists/da04f14c93acbe9a7aef827be0a2e91c, extracts a file via jq, writes it to disk as x, and runs it with sh x. On npm install, the installer host fetches and executes arbitrary, unpinned, attacker-controlled content from a mutable GitHub Gist, and the webhook.site beacon discloses the install (and curl-visible metadata such as public IP and user-agent) to the attacker. The JS-comment-wrapping of the shell payload is a deliberate cover story so prepare.js reads as a trivial hello-world when viewed as JavaScript.

Database specific 
{
    "malicious-packages-origins":  [
        {
            "id":  "IN-MAL-2026-021572",
            "import_time":  "2026-10-22T06:30:24.231976945Z",
            "modified_time":  "2026-10-22T06:11:06Z",
            "sha256":  "25577370189f57a5678b2f2c45e212abfc79a3675dc7d51581f633e78aba47a6",
            "source":  "amazon-inspector",
            "versions":  [
                "1.0.2"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

npm / formatting-subtitles

Package

Name
formatting-subtitles
View open source insights on deps.dev
Purl
pkg:npm/formatting-subtitles

Affected ranges

Affected versions

1.*
1.0.2

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":  "prepare.js",
            "sha256":  "08621cf159a42a51cc7adb68a5de9362791f82d828aa8e06acb5274326b08bc8",
            "tlsh":  "d6e07dbf44dc45271b1467c5c6005129f216c188d510ba44d4d1535e78c941121d952a"
        },
        {
            "path":  "package.json",
            "sha256":  "787b8adaeb91abef8536432c18baf565a2ea2d2b8df80daa1d83b216e6ca298d",
            "tlsh":  "8ff05910c6315e6306c4baf08dfa10426a221c1b87683d1a7ac3150c9b4d6f744ff7aa"
        }
    ],
    "package_integrity":  [
        {
            "filename":  "formatting-subtitles-1.0.2.tgz",
            "hashes":  {
                "sha1":  "199aa6a0ce2832752c28df0562a3bb854670e31d",
                "sha512_sri":  "sha512-XNf+/5pUF/7eiFRxUpcKHIJrwF1DRslpn/Kw6U1FBQbzlM/VBkLTrkvCsU3E2xvMIcpyVAC8tIeOT7cDajsLQQ=="
            }
        }
    ]
}
source 
"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/formatting-subtitles/MAL-2026-18184.json"