# MAL-2026-14257: Malicious code in modsync (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `modsync` (npm)
- **Published:** 19 Aug 2026

## What is MAL-2026-14257?

MAL-2026-14257 is a malicious package in modsync, published on 19 Aug 2026. 

### Official description

The package presents itself as a pino-like logger/middleware (README, docs/, and index.d.ts copied from pinojs/pino; keywords `fast/logger/stream/json`) but its exported middleware is a no-op. index.js unconditionally requires `./lib/config`, which is a 4 MB single-line file bearing obfuscator.io fingerprints (hex-named identifiers, a ~23,909-entry rotating string array, decoder functions, control-flow flattening, hex string escapes) and executes a top-level IIFE at module load. Consumers that `require('modsync')` execute this obfuscated blob in their process. Package metadata is inconsistent with the advertised purpose (name `modsync` combined with pino keywords, description referencing vulnerability management, author `Robert King <hello@jsonspack.com>`, bugs URL `jsonspack.com/issues`). The combination of a plagiarized cover-story shell around a large obfuscated require-time payload is characteristic of a malicious package rather than legitimate business logic; the obfuscation exists to hide behavior from inspection.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-14257?

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-2026-14257 is a malicious package: modsync (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-2026-14257/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14257/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-14257

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14257/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.