{"answers":{"affected":"1 open source package ship an affected version, including r4wk-book.","exploited":"There is no known exploitation of MAL-2026-14509 in the wild and no public exploit code.","fix":"Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.","what":"MAL-2026-14509 is a malicious package in r4wk-book, published on 25 Aug 2026."},"fix_prompt":"MAL-2026-14509 is a malicious package: r4wk-book (npm). Every version was published to cause harm.\n\nTask:\n1. Search this repository's dependency manifests and lockfiles for the package, including transitive dependencies.\n2. If it is present, remove it, regenerate the lockfile with the project's package manager, and replace whatever it was used for.\n3. List any CI runners, developer machines or containers that installed it, so their secrets can be rotated.\n4. If the package is not used anywhere, say so and change nothing.\n\nReference: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14509/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14509/index.md)","id":"MAL-2026-14509","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14509/index.md","name":"MAL-2026-14509","record":{"aliases":["GHSA-jqfp-p3qc-cqm9"],"analysis":null,"analysis_generated_by":null,"assigner":null,"cpe":[],"cvss":{"score":null,"severity":null,"source":null,"vector":null,"version":null},"cwes":[],"description":"On npm install, the package's postinstall hook runs `node.worker.js`, which detaches a background child, waits a jittered delay, and opens a TCP socket to a base64-encoded host:port literal that decodes to 172.16.42.138:1234. It then spawns `/bin/sh -i` (or `cmd.exe` on Windows) and pipes the socket to the shell's stdin and the shell's stdout back to the socket, giving whoever controls that address an interactive shell on the installer's machine. The destination is stored as `Buffer.from('MTcyLjE2LjQyLjEzODoxMjM0Cg==','base64').toString().split(':')` rather than a plain literal, concealing the endpoint. The package.json advertises a generic purpose (\"Background sync module for legacy systems\") and declares itself as its own dependency (`r4wk-book: ^2.2.1`), consistent with a throwaway lure rather than a functional library.\n\nAny computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.","ecosystems":["npm"],"exploits":{"exploitdb":null,"first_seen":null,"github_poc":null,"max_poc_stars":null,"metasploit":null,"nuclei":null,"refs":[],"tier":null},"has_fix":false,"headline":"Malicious code in r4wk-book (npm)","id":"MAL-2026-14509","indexable":true,"kev":null,"kind":"malicious","links":{"ecosystem":"npm","product":null,"products":[],"type":null,"year":"2026"},"n_packages":1,"n_references":null,"packages":[{"ecosystem":"npm","fixed":[],"introduced":["0"],"last_affected":[],"package":"r4wk-book","purl":"pkg:npm/r4wk-book","source":"MAL-2026-14509"}],"products":null,"published":"2026-08-25","related":[],"sources":[{"class":"attribution","licence":"Apache-2.0","name":"OpenSSF Malicious Packages","prefix":"MAL"}],"ssvc":{"automatable":null,"exploitation":null,"technical_impact":null},"state":null,"updated":null,"vendors":null},"summary":null,"url":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-14509/"}