MAL-2026-16053 Malicious code in file-type-detector (npm)
- Package
- file-type-detector
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-16053?
MAL-2026-16053 is a malicious package in file-type-detector, published on 9 Sep 2026.
Official description
A clone of file-type-checker with one function added: isSign(name, moduleName, offset) in dist/validation/image.js reads public/${name}.png from the working directory, splits the buffer at -offset, and writes the trailing payload to../../../{moduleName}/log - a sibling package under node_modules - then returns isPNG() so the caller sees a plausible boolean. It is undocumented, reachable only via an __exportStar wildcard so it is never named in dist/index.js, and fails silently on try/catch.
Drop stage of a three-package chain: file-type-detector writes the payload, gloggo (1.1.2-1.1.4) executes it via require('./log'), and sonmors (typosquat of sonner) triggers the chain by requiring gloggo. gloggo shares the npm publisher log-developer and was published five minutes apart on 2026-08-27. No install hooks; execution occurs on require().
What should I do about MAL-2026-16053?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.