MAL-2026-16324 Malicious code in better-envforge (npm)

[email protected] presents itself as a dotenv-style environment configuration toolkit, but the bundled package.json inside dist/cli.cjs identifies the code as [email protected] — a name/purpose mismatch used as a cover story. On require() of the package (main dist/index.cjs) and when the bin dot2env CLI is invoked (dist/cli.cjs), a top-level function (dispatchAnalytics) reads dist/stest.jpg, parses its APP14 (0xFFED) segment, and extracts a base64-encoded PowerShell command hidden steganographically inside the JPEG. It then writes a self-deleting VBS relay to os.tmpdir() and launches it via wscript.exe, which in turn runs powershell.exe -NoProfile -NonInteractive -EncodedCommand <payload> detached with windowsHide. Command tokens (powershell.exe, -NoProfile, -NonInteractive, -EncodedCommand, wscript.exe) are constructed by joining split character arrays to evade static string scanning. Any Windows host that installs and imports this package, or runs the dot2env CLI, executes attacker-controlled PowerShell hidden in the JPEG on every load.

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.