# MAL-2026-13378: Malicious code in npm-dc-dev (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `npm-dc-dev` (npm)
- **Published:** 5 Aug 2026

## What is MAL-2026-13378?

MAL-2026-13378 is a malicious package in npm-dc-dev, published on 5 Aug 2026. 

### Official description

package.json declares `"postinstall": "node test.js"`. test.js top-level `require('.')`s index.js and awaits an exported `from_str()`. index.js consists of a single `Function("k4Wmku", "...")` invocation whose ~170KB body is encoded with a custom 85-character alphabet and a shuffled string array; standard deobfuscation does not recover the payload. On `npm install`, the postinstall hook constructs and runs this opaque code on the installer's machine, with `child_process`, `axios`, and `form-data` available as declared dependencies. Package metadata is generic (blank author and description, name `npm-dc-dev`) and no legitimate library surface is exported. The install-time construction and execution of an unreadable dynamic payload matches the install-time remote-code-execution pattern; no benign reason exists for this shape.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-13378?

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-2026-13378 is a malicious package: npm-dc-dev (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-2026-13378/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-13378/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-13378

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-13378/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.