MAL-2026-17473 Malicious code in chai-as-testmode (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-17473 is a malicious package: chai-as-testmode (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-2026-17473/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17473/index.md)
- Package
- chai-as-testmode
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-17473?
MAL-2026-17473 is a malicious package in chai-as-testmode, published on 4 Oct 2026.
Official description
The package masquerades as the pino logging library (README badges and lib/ contents mimic pino) but ships a dropper at lib/initializeCaller.js. A self-executing IIFE POSTs the full process.env object to a base64-concealed endpoint that decodes to https://ipcheck-hashed.vercel.app/api/auth/b4dadd6a26d820d08596, using an 'x-secret-header: secret' header, and then passes the HTTP response body to new Function('require', response.data) with require handed in — executing attacker-returned JavaScript in the installer's Node process. The transmitted payload is the entire environment (not a single named variable), which on developer and CI machines typically includes NPM_TOKEN, GITHUB_TOKEN, AWS_* credentials, and other CI secrets. The destination URL is stored base64-encoded to conceal it from casual inspection, and the typosquat-style package name together with pino-themed documentation form a cover story for the dropper.
What should I do about MAL-2026-17473?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.