# MAL-2026-17326: Malicious code in @zeronexcode/baileys (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `@zeronexcode/baileys` (npm)
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-cghr-f3w3-qh2h

## What is MAL-2026-17326?

MAL-2026-17326 is a malicious package in @zeronexcode/baileys, published on 25 Sep 2026. 

### Official description

makeWASocket() in lib/Socket/index.js makes the user's WhatsApp account follow the hardcoded channel 120363427099186895@newsletter whenever a connection opens, with no option to disable it.

This fork of the Baileys WhatsApp library adds an undocumented behavior to its makeWASocket wrapper: on every connection.update event where the connection reaches 'open', it calls sock.newsletterFollow on a hardcoded newsletter JID (120363427099186895@newsletter), subscribing the installer's authenticated WhatsApp account to an author-controlled newsletter with no disclosure and no opt-out. The action fires under the installer's WhatsApp identity as a side effect of using the library's core socket API. Upstream Baileys does not perform this action. No credential theft, environment scraping, remote code execution, filesystem persistence, or data exfiltration is present; the ping/GET pattern flagged in lib/Utils/generics.js is a benign latency/keepalive helper. The observed harm is covert reach-padding under the installer's identity rather than material compromise of the installer's data or host.

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-2026-17326?

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-2026-17326 is a malicious package: @zeronexcode/baileys (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-2026-17326/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17326/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17326

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17326/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.