# MAL-2026-14269: Malicious code in novel-suduko (npm)


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

## What is MAL-2026-14269?

MAL-2026-14269 is a malicious package in novel-suduko, published on 19 Aug 2026. 

### Official description

The package's postinstall lifecycle script chmods and executes the bundled binary native/hint-linux-amd64 via spawnSync(BIN, [], { stdio: 'inherit' }) on every linux-x64 install, with errors silently swallowed by a try/catch that only console.error's. The README falsely states the postinstall only performs chmod +x and 'executes nothing.' The shipped native/src/hint.go is a ~4 KB self-contained sudoku hint program using only fmt/os/io/bufio/json/strings, which would produce roughly a 2 MB stripped static Go binary; the shipped artifact is 33,976,468 bytes and its string table references facilities absent from the source (chacha8, /proc/self/cgroup, /proc/self/mountinfo, GODEBUG parsing). The declared build:native command in package.json cannot reproduce the shipped artifact from the shipped source. The Go file is a decoy alibi for a much larger opaque native payload that is executed on the installer's machine at npm install time.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-14269?

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-2026-14269 is a malicious package: novel-suduko (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-2026-14269/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14269/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-14269

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14269/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.