{"answers":{"affected":"1 open source package ship an affected version, including ichigo-baileys.","exploited":"There is no known exploitation of MAL-2026-17445 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-2026-17445 is a malicious package in ichigo-baileys, published on 19 Oct 2026."},"fix_prompt":"MAL-2026-17445 is a malicious package: ichigo-baileys (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-2026-17445/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17445/index.md)","id":"MAL-2026-17445","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17445/index.md","name":"MAL-2026-17445","record":{"aliases":["GHSA-q66v-22v7-2qj9"],"analysis":null,"analysis_generated_by":null,"assigner":null,"cpe":[],"cvss":{"score":null,"severity":null,"source":null,"vector":null,"version":null},"cwes":[],"description":"This package is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library (npm) and belongs to the \"PhantomSub\" family described by OX Security in September 2026: the publisher injected code that, without the installer asking, uses the installer's own authenticated WhatsApp session to subscribe that account to WhatsApp Channels (newsletters) the publisher chose, by sending the WhatsApp `w:mex` FOLLOW query (query_id 7871414976211147) for each target channel JID.\n\n`package/lib/Socket/messages-recv.js` lines 45-67 define a char-code decoder (`qvnr`) and use it to build the channel JID `120363428355171197@newsletter` and the method names `newsletterFollow` and `newsletterMute` (cited line 56: `const pzha = qvnr([`), so neither the JID nor the method names appear in the source as text. Lines 1119-1134, in the `connection.update` handler, wait 30 seconds after the connection opens, then call `sock[pzha](id)` (follow) and, 3 seconds later, `sock[wjcf](id)` (mute) for the JID.\n\n`package/lib/Socket/newsletter.js` lines 86-112 add a second routine, `autoJoinChannels`, that 30 seconds after the connection opens sends FOLLOW and then MUTE for the plain-literal JID `120363402057133599@newsletter`. The code is derived from `noxleyss` (MAL-2026-17402), whose name it still uses in `package/lib/Utils/generics.js`.\n\nLine numbers refer to version 1.0.5; the same code is present in every published version listed under `affected`.\n\nStatic review of the published tarball(s) found no code that sends WhatsApp credentials or session keys off-host, no install-time payload (the only install hook is Baileys' stock Node.js version check in `engine-requirements.js`), and no persistence; the payload runs when an application creates a WhatsApp socket with the library. The harm is the covert use of the victim's account to inflate the publisher's channel subscribers.\n\nSHA-256 of the published npm tarball(s): 1.0.0: `5fe50ba443b5033315bdec46b80ea41bb3894e83f8d2f3343233cd0cbaacee16`; 1.0.5: `67e493bf91f61995c79592a4148f290339ef16910f3a5417d2d7d2b47ef36a65`.\n\nAny 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.","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 ichigo-baileys (npm)","id":"MAL-2026-17445","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":["0"],"last_affected":[],"package":"ichigo-baileys","purl":"pkg:npm/ichigo-baileys","source":"MAL-2026-17445"}],"products":null,"published":"2026-10-19","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-2026-17445/"}