MAL-2026-16052 Malicious code in open-item-validator (npm)
- Package
- open-item-validator
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-16052?
MAL-2026-16052 is a malicious package in open-item-validator, published on 8 Sep 2026.
Official description
On require(), index.js spawns a detached, unref'd background Node process (lib/check-items.js) that repeatedly HTTP-GETs a JSON payload from http://itemx.servegame.com:8888/api/x-realtime and executes the returned JavaScript via new Function('require','module', payload.code)(require, moduleObj). The daemon survives the parent process and re-polls the endpoint on a configured interval, so whoever controls that endpoint runs arbitrary Node code on the installer's host on library load and continuously thereafter. The fetch is over plain HTTP to a No-IP dynamic-DNS host (servegame.com) that does not match the publisher's declared homepage (game.spawnrealm.com); a bundled RSA signature check does not alter that the endpoint operator chooses what code runs. README framing as 'signed game code updates' is inconsistent with the shipped generic fetch-and-exec mechanism and the publisher/destination host mismatch.
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.
What should I do about MAL-2026-16052?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-55qh-42r8-hcgq.