MAL-2026-16179 Malicious code in process-tailwind (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-16179 is a malicious package: process-tailwind (npm). Every version was published to cause harm.
Task:
1. Search this repository's dependency manifests and lockfiles for the package, including transitive dependencies.
2. If it is present, remove it, regenerate the lockfile with the project's package manager, and replace whatever it was used for.
3. List any CI runners, developer machines or containers that installed it, so their secrets can be rotated.
4. If the package is not used anywhere, say so and change nothing.
Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-16179/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-16179/index.md)
- Package
- process-tailwind
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-16179?
MAL-2026-16179 is a malicious package in process-tailwind, published on 15 Sep 2026.
Official description
On require/import, index.js unconditionally calls initialize(), which spawns a detached, unref'd
node loader.js child with stdio ignored and writes a PID file. loader.js fetches JSON from https://api.npoint.io/24c25d5f5fcbb0992a4f (a mutable third-party paste endpoint), base64-decodes the code field, and executes it via new Function('require','__dirname','__filename','module','exports', decodedCode)(...), granting the remote endpoint operator arbitrary code execution on the installer's host. The remote URL is stored in a constant misleadingly named API_KEY and surrounded by comments describing the loader as a sandboxed educational component, contradicting the actual fetch-decode-eval behavior.What should I do about MAL-2026-16179?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.