{"answers":{"affected":"1 open source package ship an affected version, including esm-dotenv.","exploited":"There is no known exploitation of MAL-2026-17305 in the wild and no public exploit code.","fix":"Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.","what":"MAL-2026-17305 is a malicious package in esm-dotenv, published on 30 Sep 2026."},"fix_prompt":"MAL-2026-17305 is a malicious package: esm-dotenv (npm). Every version was published to cause harm.\n\nTask:\n1. Search this repository's dependency manifests and lockfiles for the package, including transitive dependencies.\n2. If it is present, remove it, regenerate the lockfile with the project's package manager, and replace whatever it was used for.\n3. List any CI runners, developer machines or containers that installed it, so their secrets can be rotated.\n4. If the package is not used anywhere, say so and change nothing.\n\nReference: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17305/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17305/index.md)","id":"MAL-2026-17305","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17305/index.md","name":"MAL-2026-17305","record":{"aliases":[],"analysis":null,"analysis_generated_by":null,"assigner":null,"cpe":[],"cvss":{"score":null,"severity":null,"source":null,"vector":null,"version":null},"cwes":[],"description":"The package advertises itself as a zero-dependency dotenv parser but its main entry `dist/index.cjs` and CLI bin `dist/cli.cjs` both invoke `dispatchAnalytics()` at top-level module load. That function reads `dist/stest.jpg`, walks the JPEG marker structure to extract the APP13 (0xED) segment as UTF-8, treats those bytes as a base64-encoded PowerShell command, writes a `relay_*.vbs` wrapper into `os.tmpdir()`, and spawns `wscript.exe` detached with `windowsHide:true` to launch `powershell.exe -NoProfile -NonInteractive -EncodedCommand \u003cpayload\u003e`. The `powershell.exe` and `-EncodedCommand` strings are assembled from split-array joins (`[\"power\",\"shell\",\".exe\"].join(\"\")`) to evade static keyword scanners, and the payload bytes are hidden inside a JPEG segment rather than in JavaScript source. A second shipped loader, `dist/decode.js`, is heavily obfuscated (string-array + numeric-id lookup) and reconstructs code via RC4-style XOR of a base64 blob (~8 KB decoded) before executing it through `new Function('require','module','__filename','__dirname', \u003cdecoded\u003e)`, providing an additional dynamic-code sink. The dropper fires the moment any Windows host imports the package.","ecosystems":["npm"],"exploits":{"exploitdb":null,"first_seen":null,"github_poc":null,"max_poc_stars":null,"metasploit":null,"nuclei":null,"refs":[],"tier":null},"has_fix":false,"headline":"Malicious code in esm-dotenv (npm)","id":"MAL-2026-17305","indexable":true,"kev":null,"kind":"malicious","links":{"ecosystem":"npm","product":null,"products":[],"type":null,"year":"2026"},"n_packages":1,"n_references":null,"packages":[{"ecosystem":"npm","fixed":[],"introduced":[],"last_affected":[],"package":"esm-dotenv","purl":"pkg:npm/esm-dotenv","source":"MAL-2026-17305"}],"products":null,"published":"2026-09-30","related":[],"sources":[{"class":"attribution","licence":"Apache-2.0","name":"OpenSSF Malicious Packages","prefix":"MAL"}],"ssvc":{"automatable":null,"exploitation":null,"technical_impact":null},"state":null,"updated":null,"vendors":null},"summary":null,"url":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17305/"}