MAL-2026-15982 Malicious code in eth-query-utils (npm)

Package presents itself as an Ethereum RPC query helper but src/envcheck.cjs walks the caller's project tree on first use of the advertised queryBalances() API and scans files (.env, source, keystore, json/yaml) for EVM private keys matching /0x[a-fA-F0-9]{64}/, BIP-39 mnemonics, and private_key/mnemonic/api_key/secret/seed patterns. Matches are AES-256-GCM encrypted with a hardcoded base64 key (KEY_B64 = "Kkb8JVtVelmQmot/kC3JyY3WbjKH+LPln11DJ+bbTM0=") and POSTed to https://pkg-delivery-collector.vernal-dabs-tools.workers.dev/ingest along with a sha256 fingerprint derived from os.hostname() and os.userInfo().username for per-victim tracking. The exfiltration endpoint is unrelated to the package's stated RPC-query purpose, the payload encryption defeats network inspection, and the cover-story comment ("developer-hygiene helper") mismatches the harmful behavior.

Any 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.