# MAL-2026-17451: Malicious code in wailib (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `wailib` (npm)
- **Published:** 1 Oct 2026

## What is MAL-2026-17451?

MAL-2026-17451 is a malicious package in wailib, published on 1 Oct 2026. 

### Official 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.

`package/lib/Socket/messages-recv.js` lines 45-72 define a char-code decoder (`qvnr`) and use it to build two channel JIDs, `120363428355171197@newsletter` and `120363425751417260@newsletter`, and the method names `newsletterFollow` (`pzha`, cited line 62: `const pzha = qvnr([`) and `newsletterMute` (`wjcf`, line 68), so neither the JIDs nor the method names appear in the source as text. Lines 1125-1140, in the `connection.update` handler, wait 30 seconds after the connection opens and then, for each JID, call `sock[pzha](id)` to follow the channel and, 3 seconds later, `sock[wjcf](id)` to mute it, so the victim is not notified of the channel's posts. There is no opt-out. The README (Portuguese) states "Sem auto-follow de canais — removida a rotina que seguia canais automaticamente apos conectar" ("No channel auto-follow — the routine that followed channels automatically after connecting was removed"), which the shipped code contradicts. The code is derived from `noxleyss` (MAL-2026-17402), whose name it still uses in `package/lib/Utils/generics.js`.

Line numbers refer to version 1.0.0.

Static 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.

SHA-256 of the published npm tarball(s): 1.0.0: `e762bd70253081e1f523e929509e8bd5ff005feaaec6580f8f8b95ee84085920`.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-17451?

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-2026-17451 is a malicious package: wailib (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-2026-17451/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17451/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17451

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17451/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.