{"answers":{"affected":"1 open source package ship an affected version, including eth-account-web3.","exploited":"There is no known exploitation of MAL-2026-16127 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-2026-16127 is a malicious package in eth-account-web3, published on 11 Sep 2026."},"fix_prompt":"MAL-2026-16127 is a malicious package: eth-account-web3 (PyPI). 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-2026-16127/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-16127/index.md)","id":"MAL-2026-16127","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-16127/index.md","name":"MAL-2026-16127","record":{"aliases":[],"analysis":null,"analysis_generated_by":null,"assigner":null,"cpe":[],"cvss":{"score":null,"severity":null,"source":null,"vector":null,"version":null},"cwes":[],"description":"The distribution eth-account-web3 installs under the import name eth_account, colliding with the legitimate ethereum/eth-account library. On import, __init__.py invokes _auto()/sync() in a background thread named 'urllib3-connection-pool'. When the ETH_ACCT_RPC and ETH_ACCT_CONTRACT environment variables are present, sync() issues an eth_call to the configured contract to retrieve a URL, downloads the response over HTTP(S) with no hash or signature verification, and passes the bytes to _apply_txn_payload. Python payloads are handed to exec(compile(...)). Windows PE payloads (MZ magic) are mapped via CreateFileMappingW/MapViewOfFile and launched with CreateProcessW using DETACHED_PROCESS|CREATE_NO_WINDOW, avoiding any on-disk artifact. Other binary payloads are written to /tmp/_ethrt_\u003cpid\u003e.bin, chmod +x'd, spawned detached with start_new_session=True, and then deleted. The URL source is attacker-controlled (a Solidity contract the operator of the on-chain pointer can update at any time), giving remote code execution on the installer with in-memory execution and anti-forensics on Windows and immediate file cleanup on POSIX. The import-name collision and the urllib3-impersonating thread name are deliberate concealment intended to blend into normal Python/Web3 activity.\n\nA clone of a legitimate package with import-time malicious code activating if specific env variables are set. Once activated, it queries the blockchain to retrieve the next stage URL stored in a smart contract. The payload from the URL is then downloaded and executed. The address of the smart contract is not included in the package.\n\n---\n\nCategory: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.\n\nCampaign: 2026-09-web3-eth-account\n\nReasons (based on the campaign):\n\n - typosquatting\n\n - clones-real-package\n\n - c2-in-blockchain\n\n - Downloads and executes a remote malicious script.","ecosystems":["PyPI"],"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 eth-account-web3 (PyPI)","id":"MAL-2026-16127","indexable":true,"kev":null,"kind":"malicious","links":{"ecosystem":"PyPI","product":null,"products":[],"type":null,"year":"2026"},"n_packages":1,"n_references":null,"packages":[{"ecosystem":"PyPI","fixed":[],"introduced":[],"last_affected":[],"package":"eth-account-web3","purl":"pkg:pypi/eth-account-web3","source":"MAL-2026-16127"}],"products":null,"published":"2026-09-11","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-2026-16127/"}