MAL-2026-12088 Malicious code in @wethenorth12/bitcoinjs-wallet (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-12088 is a malicious package: @wethenorth12/bitcoinjs-wallet (npm). 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-2026-12088/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-12088/index.md)
- Package
- @wethenorth12/bitcoinjs-wallet
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-12088?
MAL-2026-12088 is a malicious package in @wethenorth12/bitcoinjs-wallet, published on 5 Aug 2026.
Official description
On require(), index.js collects the full process.env object together with hostname, username, home directory, platform, current working directory, and a timestamp, JSON-encodes and base64-encodes the payload, and issues an HTTPS GET to api.telegram.org/bot<token>/sendMessage with a hardcoded bot token and chat_id. A tmp-file flag suppresses re-sending. The package advertises itself as a 'Drop-in replacement for bitcoinjs-lib' under an unrelated scope and ships only stub wallet functions alongside this exfiltration payload, consistent with a typosquat lure targeting bitcoinjs-lib users. In modern development and CI environments, process.env routinely contains cloud credentials, npm/GitHub tokens, and database passwords, all of which are sent to the attacker-controlled Telegram chat on module load.
What should I do about MAL-2026-12088?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.