MAL-2026-17513 Malicious code in lite-matterr (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-17513 is a malicious package: lite-matterr (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-2026-17513/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17513/index.md)
- Package
- lite-matterr
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-17513?
MAL-2026-17513 is a malicious package in lite-matterr, published on 4 Oct 2026.
Official description
[email protected] declares a postinstall hook in package.json that runs
wscript.exe 4444.vbs on npm install. The bundled 4444.vbs is a ~765KB heavily obfuscated VBScript containing layered decryption routines (XOR-masked AES S-boxes, a ChaCha20 stream layer, SHA-256 round constants XORed with 0x5A5A5A5A) and a ~600-entry base64 bundle that it concatenates and decrypts into a PowerShell loader. The decrypted loader is written to %TEMP%\pf<rand>.dat and executed via powershell.exe, with internal comments referencing process hollowing. The README falsely claims 'No network requests. No personal data storage. No installation scripts.', directly contradicting the declared postinstall. The package presents a 'Device Telemetry Aggregator' cover story while actually delivering a multi-stage Windows dropper that achieves code execution on any host that installs the package.What should I do about MAL-2026-17513?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.