MAL-2026-14245 Malicious code in github-policy-bot (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-14245 is a malicious package: github-policy-bot (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-2026-14245/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14245/index.md)
- Package
- github-policy-bot
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-14245?
MAL-2026-14245 is a malicious package in github-policy-bot, published on 19 Aug 2026.
Official description
On
npm install, the package's postinstall script collects host identifiers (os.hostname(), platform, arch, node version, package name, npm lifecycle event) and POSTs them as JSON to the hardcoded host vlfl47tl.instances.poc.jchunt.top at path /github-policy-bot. The outbound request is fail-silent (error handler swallows failures) and short-timeout, consistent with a beacon. The package name shadows the Google-owned js-github-policy-bot repository path referenced in the tarball's source.txt, and the package.json author is a placeholder (r00tdaddy) with a self-declared 'security research canary' purpose — an author-controlled label that does not change the behavior. Installing this package causes unsolicited disclosure of the installer's hostname and environment metadata to a third-party endpoint the installer did not configure.What should I do about MAL-2026-14245?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.