MAL-2026-2350

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/dotenv-express/MAL-2026-2350.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-2350
Aliases
  • GHSA-hmr7-9h9c-5m6q
Published
2026-03-24T15:43:15Z
Modified
2026-09-01T11:31:09Z
Summary
Malicious code in dotenv-express (npm)
Details

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

Source: amazon-inspector (87c063897212774df4e13b1d7bf70cc74a98ac1ca824d2bb1f1e8c60d0662b5e)

Package impersonates the popular dotenv package: package.json points its repository field to git://github.com/motdotla/dotenv.git and homepage to https://github.com/motdotla/dotenv#readme, neither of which the author owns. The library code is a near-verbatim copy of dotenv but adds const gate = require('environment-gate') at the top of lib/main.js, and the documented config() entry point begins with gate.gate() — so any consumer calling the standard dotenv API (require('dotenv-express').config()) executes code from environment-gate, an unrelated third-party dependency with no env-file-loading purpose, on every load. The package additionally ships skills/dotenv/SKILL.md and skills/dotenvx/SKILL.md whose frontmatter declares name: dotenv, author: motdotla, source: https://github.com/motdotla/dotenv, and instructs npm install dotenv — identity-spoofing metadata designed to trick AI coding agents into treating this package as the genuine dotenv. The combination of impersonated repo/homepage/skill metadata, a name one token away from dotenv, and a forced transitive dependency that runs on the documented API call is deliberate namespace abuse rather than a typo, and the harm to installers is whatever environment-gate does at require-time on every .config() invocation.

Source: ghsa-malware (03c0fed624e7f4adac4d6d6f75a5d7074900b15daf2009781445e6edd0b01f87)

Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.

Database specific 
{
    "malicious-packages-origins": [
        {
            "id": "RLMA-2026-01743",
            "import_time": "2026-04-01T12:26:07.75022583Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-03-24T15:43:15Z",
            "sha256": "5ea08e37c8d0d7664606e811be640da27372585c408c2cf5987b8903ad6dd493",
            "source": "reversing-labs",
            "versions": [
                "2.5.5"
            ]
        },
        {
            "import_time": "2026-04-07T14:39:16.66911359Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-04-07T14:24:50Z",
            "sha256": "4a2a64c0b295657e6373168223a6131c966f09e6c0b7a1e150b7deba779b75be",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "2.5.5"
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-006690",
            "import_time": "2026-06-15T20:14:28.11109398Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-06-15T19:52:13Z",
            "sha256": "4130b63199807afa74453827b83d0ce23da273ea2f4df80b31860c360239d7f8",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "17.4.4"
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-006689",
            "import_time": "2026-06-15T20:14:28.034548168Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-06-15T19:52:10Z",
            "sha256": "87c063897212774df4e13b1d7bf70cc74a98ac1ca824d2bb1f1e8c60d0662b5e",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "17.4.5"
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-006691",
            "import_time": "2026-06-15T20:14:28.227212941Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-06-15T19:52:13Z",
            "sha256": "b2550d2da2fa62332dfdc22a952773e11cfd7b97d2dbbaab70697eff6321c54f",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "17.4.3"
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "GHSA-hmr7-9h9c-5m6q",
            "import_time": "2026-07-06T18:54:03.59858665Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-07-06T18:53:09Z",
            "sha256": "03c0fed624e7f4adac4d6d6f75a5d7074900b15daf2009781445e6edd0b01f87",
            "source": "ghsa-malware",
            "versions": [
                "17.4.6",
                "17.4.5",
                "17.4.4",
                "17.4.3",
                "17.4.2"
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-008994",
            "import_time": "2026-07-08T23:27:58.076672045Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-07-08T23:03:19Z",
            "sha256": "92f1b1d09c90ea6261b274ee3f1aa6720f36c96ec9b32b6f2a0ef7f05ddcef59",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "17.4.2"
            ]
        },
        {
            "id": "RLUA-2026-05529",
            "import_time": "2026-07-20T13:15:01.640230176Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-07-20T10:40:25Z",
            "sha256": "c93b3b07d5885e933de83dadbe787cb87929204b60176a8093a0b5287929cae2",
            "source": "reversing-labs"
        },
        {
            "id": "RLUA-2026-06177",
            "import_time": "2026-09-01T11:18:01.863666674Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-08-24T16:47:44Z",
            "sha256": "7ca0a55483d0167fa11024754cae23847d971a219d49e3ad5b12f7bede01858d",
            "source": "reversing-labs",
            "versions": [
                "17.4.5",
                "17.4.3",
                "17.4.4"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

npm / dotenv-express

Package

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

Affected ranges

Affected versions

2.*
2.5.5
17.*
17.4.2
17.4.3
17.4.4
17.4.5
17.4.6

Database specific

cwes 
[
    {
        "cweId": "CWE-506",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.",
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code"
    },
    {
        "cweId": "CWE-506",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.",
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code"
    },
    {
        "cweId": "CWE-506",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.",
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code"
    },
    {
        "cweId": "CWE-506",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.",
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code"
    },
    {
        "cweId": "CWE-506",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.",
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code"
    }
]
indicators 
{
    "evidence_files": [
        {
            "path": "lib/main.js",
            "sha256": "e9ee2df1dc7bf9a9482ee12fb2e329f367b409ab24ef544667e7c18352397630",
            "tlsh": "5a428208a9f5761147c3b2d2914f5009a9bac217361c9f907a8cb3d86f49e78c5e37ed"
        }
    ],
    "package_integrity": [
        {
            "filename": "dotenv-express-17.4.4.tgz",
            "hashes": {
                "sha1": "bbf7ae337d0f74ad1bf5dd9774dddc01c9d38900",
                "sha512_sri": "sha512-HRlvUEUxmAoB4pTtud/GtDiPEpRIrUbc/ndVk2dOW6jDY/LVMWczGyJY3OjX/J9g4mFfCtbVI/J3Cf5DvQwRqA=="
            }
        }
    ]
}
source 
"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/dotenv-express/MAL-2026-2350.json"