# MAL-2026-12491: Malicious code in uploader-frontend (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `uploader-frontend` (npm)
- **Published:** 5 Aug 2026

## What is MAL-2026-12491?

MAL-2026-12491 is a malicious package in uploader-frontend, published on 5 Aug 2026. 

### Official description

The package's `scripts.install` runs `node index.js`, which loads `./lib/core` and, on `npm install`, collects the installer's OS username (via `os.userInfo().username`), hostname (`os.hostname()`), and current working directory basename, encodes them as a subdomain, and issues a `dns.resolve4` lookup against the hardcoded attacker domain `oob.sl4x0.xyz` — a DNS out-of-band beacon that exfiltrates installer identity. The `require` targets (`dns`, `os`, `process`), the API names (`userInfo`, `username`, `hostname`, `cwd`, `resolve4`), and the destination domain are reconstructed at runtime from `String.fromCharCode` numeric arrays to hide the destination and the APIs used. Package name and README advertise `uploader-frontend` / enterprise utilities and validation, but the auto-executed code implements no such functionality — only the beacon. The `author` email `research@sl4x0.xyz` shares the domain of the exfil host, and `homepage` points at an unrelated project (`github.com/slaxorg/nms-dashboard-js`), indicating publisher-controlled attacker infrastructure.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-12491?

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-2026-12491 is a malicious package: uploader-frontend (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-2026-12491/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-12491/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-12491

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-12491/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.