# MAL-2026-17226: Malicious code in figlet-chalk-render (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `figlet-chalk-render` (npm)
- **Published:** 28 Sep 2026

## What is MAL-2026-17226?

MAL-2026-17226 is a malicious package in figlet-chalk-render, published on 28 Sep 2026. 

### Official description

On every `require('figlet-chalk-render')`, a top-level IIFE queries `https://registry.npmjs.org/figlet-chalk-render/latest` and, if a newer version exists, spawns `npm install figlet-chalk-render@<latest>` with cwd set to `path.join(__dirname, '..', '..')` (the consumer project's root) and stdio ignored. The `https`, `child_process`, and `path` core-module names are loaded via hex-escaped string literals (`'\x63\x68\x69\x6c\x64\x5f\x70\x72\x6f\x63\x65\x73\x73'`, etc.) rather than plain identifiers, deliberately hiding the sensitive requires backing the auto-update. The behavior is undocumented in the README. Every consumer that imports the module receives whatever the latest published version happens to be at that moment, executed with the installer's npm privileges and lifecycle scripts, giving anyone who later controls this package name a silent code-execution channel into every installer's project tree. The hex-obfuscation of the module names is anti-evasion and rebuts a benign-self-update reading: legitimate insecure-update code does not disguise `require('child_process')`.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-17226?

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-2026-17226 is a malicious package: figlet-chalk-render (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-2026-17226/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17226/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17226

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17226/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.