# MAL-2026-17209: Malicious code in tanksync (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `tanksync` (npm)
- **Published:** 28 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-47j4-w95p-wjp7

## What is MAL-2026-17209?

MAL-2026-17209 is a malicious package in tanksync, published on 28 Sep 2026. 

### Official description

The package's advertised API downloads a JavaScript file over HTTPS and executes it via spawn('node', [payloadPath], {detached: true}).unref(), leaving the worker running after client.close(). The default fetch target is hardcoded to https://api.helloworld.com/api/realtime-data?key=abc, which is a placeholder-shaped host that does not match the publisher's declared domain (spawnrealm.com). The purported integrity check computes HMAC-SHA256 using a symmetric key ('tanksync-secret-key') baked into the shipped source, so any party who reads the package can produce a valid signature for arbitrary payloads; the default expected signature is the placeholder 'abc123def456'. The trigger is a user-invoked API call rather than an install or import lifecycle hook, but fetching and executing arbitrary remote JavaScript is the package's entire declared purpose, and the detached worker continues running after the client is closed.

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.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-17209?

Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
MAL-2026-17209 is a malicious package: tanksync (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-2026-17209/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17209/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17209

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17209/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.