# MAL-2026-12196: Malicious code in simple-date-formatter-new-4 (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `simple-date-formatter-new-4` (npm)
- **Published:** 5 Aug 2026

## What is MAL-2026-12196?

MAL-2026-12196 is a malicious package in simple-date-formatter-new-4, published on 5 Aug 2026. 

### Official description

Package advertises itself as a date-formatting utility but its actual behavior on install is credential theft and internal-network reconnaissance. The `postinstall` script in package.json runs a shell one-liner that probes internal Kubernetes API endpoints, dumps `/etc/resolv.conf` and `ip route`, TCP-scans internal hosts, reads the pod's Kubernetes service-account token from `/var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token`, and POSTs the aggregated output via curl to a hardcoded OAST (interact.sh) collector at http://safjhdvsfwzhieemkdzbgr54r0yjhrmok.oast.fun/escinfo8. A bundled `postinstall.js` additionally enumerates `~/.ssh` (listing public keys), collects the local username and platform, and POSTs the JSON to a hardcoded IP 124.221.154.135 over HTTPS; in-file comments describe it as an SSH-key theft C2 demo. The library payload (`index.js`) is a three-line wrapper around `toLocaleDateString`, functioning solely as cover for the install-time attack.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-12196?

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-2026-12196 is a malicious package: simple-date-formatter-new-4 (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-2026-12196/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-12196/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-12196

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-12196/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.