# MAL-2025-191900: Malicious code in time-check-server (PyPI)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `time-check-server` (PyPI)
- **Published:** 25 Feb 2025

## What is MAL-2025-191900?

MAL-2025-191900 is a malicious package in time-check-server, published on 25 Feb 2025. 

### Official description

This campaign is built from two parts:
1) packages named like time-check-server, snapshot-photo contain an innocent-looking code that sends "date" to a remote server,
2) packages named like alicloud-client are clones of legit aliyun-python-sdk-core package, with a small change in the client.py code, where it imports the time-check-server and calls it, but instead of a date, the credentials to the cloud are exfiltrated. There are also variations with AWS clients

Apparently, the campaign started at least 2 years ago with the snapshot-photo package containing the same functionality as the newer time-check-server (see https://github.com/pypi-data/pypi-mirror-238/blob/code/packages/snapshot-photo/snapshot_photo-0.0.3-py3-none-any.whl/snapshot_photo/date_format.py).

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Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.

Campaign: 2025-02-alicloud-client

Reasons (based on the campaign):

 - clones-real-package

 - action-hidden-in-lib-usage

 - The malicious code is intentionally included in a dependency of the package

 - exfiltration-cloud-tokens

## What should I do about MAL-2025-191900?

Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
MAL-2025-191900 is a malicious package: time-check-server (PyPI). Every version was published to cause harm.

Task:
1. Search this repository's dependency manifests and lockfiles for the package, including transitive dependencies.
2. If it is present, remove it, regenerate the lockfile with the project's package manager, and replace whatever it was used for.
3. List any CI runners, developer machines or containers that installed it, so their secrets can be rotated.
4. If the package is not used anywhere, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2025-191900/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2025-191900/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2025-191900

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2025-191900/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.