{"answers":{"affected":"1 open source package ship an affected version, including request-guard.","exploited":"There is no known exploitation of MAL-2026-17569 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-2026-17569 is a malicious package in request-guard, published on 5 Oct 2026."},"fix_prompt":"MAL-2026-17569 is a malicious package: request-guard (RubyGems). 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-2026-17569/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17569/index.md)","id":"MAL-2026-17569","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17569/index.md","name":"MAL-2026-17569","record":{"aliases":[],"analysis":null,"analysis_generated_by":null,"assigner":null,"cpe":[],"cvss":{"score":null,"severity":null,"source":null,"vector":null,"version":null},"cwes":[],"description":"RubyGems runs this gem's native extension script `ext/req_throttle_mini/extconf.rb` during `gem install`. The script exits without action on CI runners and sandboxes, based on CI environment variables, the hostname, the username and the working directory. It continues if the system uptime is over 30 minutes and the home directory holds `.ssh`, `.gitconfig`, `.npmrc`, `.gem/credentials` or `.bundle`. It then decodes a Base64 Ruby payload, forks twice into a detached process, waits 20 to 40 minutes and opens a reverse shell that connects `/bin/sh` to 45.138.12.177 on TCP port 8090. The shell reconnects every 30 seconds. The Ruby code in `lib/` is a decoy. The RubyGems account `reqthrottle_3474` published this gem and 41 others with the same loader on 2026-10-05.\n\nThe gem's native-extension build script ext/req_throttle_mini/extconf.rb base64-decodes a Ruby payload, writes it to a random file under Dir.tmpdir, and spawns it with the Ruby interpreter before calling create_makefile. The decoded payload opens a TCP connection to the hardcoded bare IP 45.138.12.177 on port 8090 and bridges /bin/sh to the socket in a persistent reconnect loop, giving a remote party interactive shell access on the installer's host. No C/C++ source files are shipped in the gem, so the create_makefile('request-guard_native') call is cover: the extension exists solely to execute the hidden payload at install time. Installing this gem auto-executes the extension and triggers the reverse shell on the installing machine.","ecosystems":["RubyGems"],"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 request-guard (RubyGems)","id":"MAL-2026-17569","indexable":true,"kev":null,"kind":"malicious","links":{"ecosystem":"RubyGems","product":null,"products":[],"type":null,"year":"2026"},"n_packages":1,"n_references":null,"packages":[{"ecosystem":"RubyGems","fixed":[],"introduced":["0"],"last_affected":[],"package":"request-guard","purl":"pkg:gem/request-guard","source":"MAL-2026-17569"}],"products":null,"published":"2026-10-05","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-2026-17569/"}