# MAL-2026-14258: Malicious code in ranux-cloud (npm)


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

## What is MAL-2026-14258?

MAL-2026-14258 is a malicious package in ranux-cloud, published on 19 Aug 2026. 

### Official description

The package main (index.js) is obfuscator.io-transformed with a rotated string-array decoder and, at top level, uses createDecipheriv with a hardcoded AES key/iv/aad to decrypt an embedded ~2.3 MB opaque blob. The decrypted bytes are executed via a top-level `await import('data:'+...)` and the resulting module is re-exported as `startRanuxEngine`, so any consumer that requires or imports ranux-cloud immediately runs the hidden payload with no user interaction. In addition, package.json redirects the well-known dependency `@whiskeysockets/baileys` to `github:rcedubot/X` — an unrelated personal GitHub repository, unpinned to any commit SHA — so `npm install` pulls arbitrary code from that repo (including any lifecycle scripts) into the installer's dependency tree in place of the legitimate Baileys library. The combination of encrypted-payload import-time execution, heavy obfuscation of the loader, and a dependency-hijack pointing a namespaced dep at an attacker-controlled GitHub tree is the canonical loader/dropper shape.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-14258?

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-2026-14258 is a malicious package: ranux-cloud (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-2026-14258/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14258/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-14258

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14258/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.