MAL-2026-14052 Malicious code in require-i18next (npm)

The package's preinstall.js reads a hex-encoded command string from preinstall.json, decodes it with Buffer.from(hex, 'hex'), and passes the result to child_process.exec during npm install. The decoded payload is a curl command that POSTs the installer's whoami, current working directory, hostname, and the contents of /etc/passwd to https://eousft8gflamm91.m.pipedream.net. The name resembles the legitimate i18next ecosystem but the package's only observed behavior is install-time data exfiltration to an attacker-controlled Pipedream webhook, with the payload obfuscated as hex in a sibling JSON file to evade inspection of the JS.

The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'require-i18next' @ 20.0.0 (npm) as malicious.

It is considered malicious because:

• The package communicates with a domain associated with malicious activity.

• The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.