MAL-2026-13480 Malicious code in @prototypevip/baileys (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-13480 is a malicious package: @prototypevip/baileys (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-2026-13480/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-13480/index.md)
- Package
- @prototypevip/baileys
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-13480?
MAL-2026-13480 is a malicious package in @prototypevip/baileys, published on 6 Aug 2026.
Official description
@prototypevip/baileys is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp library. lib/Store/prototype-store.js registers a listener on the 'messages.upsert' event that runs on every incoming message. The listener body is obfuscated behind a base64 string table and a decoder (Buffer.from(s,'base64').toString('utf8')), which resolves to the property names 'type', 'md', 'ws', 'sendMessage', an Arabic message body ('you are no longer authorized to use this bot'), and the marker 'gintoki'. When the routine walks the message object and locates the active WhatsApp socket (type=='md', ws truthy), it compares an adjacent key against the decoded literal 'gintoki'. On any installer whose bot is not tagged with that hardcoded owner string, the code invokes the installer's own socket's sendMessage to broadcast the Arabic 'no longer authorized' notice through the installer's WhatsApp account and then throws 'Blocked' (also base64-decoded) to halt message handling. The behavior is undocumented, is hidden by base64 obfuscation of every relevant string, and abuses the installer's authenticated WhatsApp session as the delivery channel to send attacker-authored content to the installer's own contacts.
What should I do about MAL-2026-13480?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.