# MAL-2026-13737: Malicious code in @openzeppelin-4/contracts (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `@openzeppelin-4/contracts` (npm)
- **Published:** 11 Aug 2026

## What is MAL-2026-13737?

MAL-2026-13737 is a malicious package in @openzeppelin-4/contracts, published on 11 Aug 2026. 

### Official description

@openzeppelin-4/contracts is a malicious npm package published by npm account `mssjeep843` that impersonates OpenZeppelin's `@openzeppelin/contracts` (the v4 line) via the look-alike scope `@openzeppelin-4`, falsely describing itself as a "compatibility distribution". It ships no Solidity contracts — only an install-time payload (index.js) run via preinstall/postinstall that harvests credential-shaped environment variables and reads and exfiltrates SSH private keys, cloud credentials (AWS/GCP/Kubernetes/Docker), Solana/Anchor/NEAR/Sui wallet keys, Foundry keystores, `.git-credentials` and local `.env` files to `https://webhook.site/326b0891-2093-4800-a4c1-686ce3e07b09`. It is one of a series of DeFi/crypto impersonation packages from the same account sharing this webhook.site endpoint, which also squat Aerodrome Finance, Camelot AMM, Euler EVC, BoringVault and Uniswap Permit2.

Package name @openzeppelin-4/contracts impersonates the @openzeppelin/contracts scope but ships no Solidity contracts — only index.js, executed via lifecycle scripts. index.js enumerates process.env for credential-shaped keys (KEY, TOKEN, SECRET, AWS, GITHUB, NPM, MNEMONIC, WALLET, INFURA, etc.), reads installer secret files including ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.ssh/id_rsa, ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.kube/config, ~/.docker/config.json, ~/.netrc, ~/.npmrc, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.git-credentials, gcloud application default credentials, Solana/Anchor/Sui keys, Foundry keystores, and project.env files, then POSTs the collected data to https://webhook.site/326b0891-2093-4800-a4c1-686ce3e07b09. Delivery uses spawn(process.execPath, ['-e', src], { detached: true, stdio: 'ignore' }) with a randomized 60–240 second delay, and the script bails out when the hostname or username matches sandbox/scanner patterns (scan-, detonation, sandbox, ubuntu-fc-uvm) or when canary env markers are present, evading install-time analysis.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-13737?

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-2026-13737 is a malicious package: @openzeppelin-4/contracts (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-2026-13737/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-13737/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-13737

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-13737/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.