MAL-2026-10063 Malicious code in express-router-engine (npm)

Malicious package Published
Package
express-router-engine
Registry
npm

What is MAL-2026-10063?

MAL-2026-10063 is a malicious package in express-router-engine, published on 9 Jul 2026.

Official description

The sole shipped file index.js is a heavily obfuscated (RC4 + base64 string-array, 337-entry rotated array, control-flow flattening) IIFE that executes at require() time. On load it constructs a URL from encrypted string constants plus the package version, issues an HTTP GET with an Authentication header, splits the response body on ':' to derive a symmetric key and IV, decrypts the payload with crypto.createDecipheriv, writes the decrypted bytes to a file under a temp/home path, and executes that file via child_process.exec with windowsHide:true. All module names (fs, os, path, child_process, http client), the fetch URL, header name/value, crypto algorithm, and temp path components are stored encrypted in the string array — the obfuscation exists purely to hide the C2 URL and payload pipeline. The package name (express-router-engine) also mismatches its own description text (express-route-engine is a lightweight routing framework...), consistent with name-confusion against a legitimate routing helper. Any consumer that requires this package fetches and executes attacker-controlled code on the installer's machine.

What should I do about MAL-2026-10063?

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

Sources

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