# MAL-2026-10974: Malicious code in rasterkit (PyPI)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `rasterkit` (PyPI)
- **Published:** 21 Jul 2026

## What is MAL-2026-10974?

MAL-2026-10974 is a malicious package in rasterkit, published on 21 Jul 2026. 

### Official description

The rasterkit 1.0.2 distribution installs its modules under the top-level `PIL/` package name owned by Pillow. `top_level.txt` declares `PIL` and the wheel's RECORD places `PIL/__init__.py`, `PIL/Image.py`, `PIL/_binary.py`, and related files under this publisher's control, so an environment that installs rasterkit alongside or in place of Pillow will resolve `from PIL import Image` to code shipped by rasterkit. In addition, `PIL/_binary.py` defines a `bmp_plane_tail` function that walks the trailing pixels of a bundled 24-bpp bitmap at `PIL/_data/demo.bmp` (~2.3 MB), reads one byte per pixel, XORs each byte with a caller-supplied key, and returns the concatenated buffer optionally split into segments. `PIL/_data/__init__.py` hardcodes exact reconstruction parameters (`DEMO_TAIL_COUNT=5092`, `DEMO_TAIL_MIX=42`, `DEMO_TAIL_SEGMENTS=[3379,1713]`) that recover two specific hidden buffers from the bundled BMP. No code path in this version invokes the decoder at install or import time, and no `exec`/`compile`/`__import__` sink for the recovered bytes is present in the shipped files, so there is no traced auto-execution of the hidden payload. The combination — namespace occupation of Pillow's `PIL` plus a stego decoder with fixed parameters over a bundled carrier — matches the shape of a two-stage dropper staging component where a separate module would supply the execution sink.

This package is a clone of Pillow library with malicious code hidden in an image using steganography. The code is the used in a dependant package to install an SSH backdoor.

---

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

Campaign: 2026-06-textwrap-toolkit-stager

Reasons (based on the campaign):

 - backdoor

 - obfuscation

 - crypto-related

 - Downloads and executes a remote malicious script.

 - exfiltration-crypto

## What should I do about MAL-2026-10974?

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-2026-10974 is a malicious package: rasterkit (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-2026-10974/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-10974/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-10974

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-10974/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.