MAL-2025-1985 Malicious code in novatwo (PyPI)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2025-1985 is a malicious package: novatwo (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-2025-1985/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2025-1985/index.md)
- Package
- novatwo
- Registry
- PyPI
What is MAL-2025-1985?
MAL-2025-1985 is a malicious package in novatwo, published on 2 Feb 2025.
Official description
Code hidden in setup.py downloads and executes multi-stage malicious code. Encrypted code from Github downloads a batch script, which then downloads and starts a next executable, which appears to be some kind of infostealer.
Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.
Campaign: 2025-02-novatwo
Reasons (based on the campaign):
Downloads and executes a remote executable.
obfuscation
malware
What should I do about MAL-2025-1985?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.