MAL-2026-16303 Malicious code in @nimbusedge2/authxsas (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-16303 is a malicious package: @nimbusedge2/authxsas (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-2026-16303/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-16303/index.md)
- Package
- @nimbusedge2/authxsas
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-16303?
MAL-2026-16303 is a malicious package in @nimbusedge2/authxsas, published on 21 Sep 2026.
Official description
The package's package.json declares a preinstall script that fires unconditionally on
npm install. The script uses curl to query the cloud instance metadata service via the nip.io wildcard-DNS resolver (169.254.169.254.nip.io/latest/meta-data/), base64-encodes the response, and POSTs it over plain HTTP to a hardcoded canarytokens.com endpoint (http://canarytokens.com/terms/7dc94zmd3so67n5vbz5bxmt7v/contact.php). On installers running on AWS/GCP/Azure hosts with IMDS reachable, this leaks IAM role identifiers and, on IMDSv1, temporary cloud credentials to a third-party canary endpoint at install time. The tarball ships no source files; the manifest and its preinstall hook are the entire payload. The scope name and package name are consistent with a dependency-confusion / SSRF canary probe targeting an internal namespace.What should I do about MAL-2026-16303?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.