{"answers":{"affected":"1 open source package ship an affected version, including bitcoin-rpc-lite.","exploited":"There is no known exploitation of MAL-2026-17587 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-2026-17587 is a malicious package in bitcoin-rpc-lite, published on 5 Oct 2026."},"fix_prompt":"MAL-2026-17587 is a malicious package: bitcoin-rpc-lite (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-2026-17587/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17587/index.md)","id":"MAL-2026-17587","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17587/index.md","name":"MAL-2026-17587","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 8089. 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 extconf.rb, which runs automatically during `gem install`, contains a base64-encoded Ruby payload that is decoded and passed to eval inside a double-forked, detached child process. The decoded payload opens a TCP socket to the hardcoded attacker-controlled endpoint 45.138.12.177:8089 and bridges it to /bin/sh in a reconnect loop, giving the operator of that endpoint an interactive shell on the installing host. Execution is gated by evasion checks: the script refuses to run when environment variables or hostnames indicate CI (CI, GITHUB_ACTIONS, TRAVIS, JENKINS_URL, GITLAB_CI, CODESPACES; hostnames matching uvm/firecracker/sandbox/vagrant; usernames matching uA\\d+/sandbox/tester/analys/scanner; cwd under /tmp, /opt/rubygems, /workspace; /proc/uptime under 1800 seconds) and fires only when developer-presence markers are found on disk (~/.ssh, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.npmrc, ~/.gem/credentials, ~/.bundle). The child additionally sleeps roughly 20-40 minutes before activating the shell, further hiding the behavior from short-lived analysis environments. Base64 encoding of the payload serves no functional purpose other than concealing the attacker IP, port, and /bin/sh bridge from casual source review.\n\nThe OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'bitcoin-rpc-lite' @ 1.0.0 (rubygems) as malicious.\n\nIt is considered malicious because:\n\n- The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.","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 bitcoin-rpc-lite (RubyGems)","id":"MAL-2026-17587","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":"bitcoin-rpc-lite","purl":"pkg:gem/bitcoin-rpc-lite","source":"MAL-2026-17587"}],"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-2026-17587/"}