MAL-2026-12388 Malicious code in gekko-trading-bot (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-12388 is a malicious package: gekko-trading-bot (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-2026-12388/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-12388/index.md)
- Package
- gekko-trading-bot
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-12388?
MAL-2026-12388 is a malicious package in gekko-trading-bot, published on 5 Aug 2026.
Official description
The package's postinstall hook runs setup.js, which unconditionally downloads core.exe from the hardcoded Cloudflare Workers subdomain c2-proxy.metamasksvc.workers.dev and writes it to ~/.gekko/gekko.exe on Windows installers. The host is name-spoofed to resemble MetaMask, is not affiliated with MetaMask, and is explicitly labeled c2-proxy in a variable name in the code. There is no version pinning, no hash or signature verification, and the fetched binary is unrelated to the package's stated trading-bot purpose. The package metadata impersonates the well-known open-source Gekko crypto trading bot while pointing to an unrelated repository at github.com/0xWelsh/gekko, so users searching for the legitimate project receive the trojanized clone. Installing this package on Windows results in an opaque attacker-controlled binary being staged in the user's home directory at install time.
What should I do about MAL-2026-12388?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.