{"answers":{"affected":"1 open source package ship an affected version, including dotenv-runtime.","exploited":"There is no known exploitation of MAL-2026-17657 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-2026-17657 is a malicious package in dotenv-runtime, published on 8 Oct 2026."},"fix_prompt":"MAL-2026-17657 is a malicious package: dotenv-runtime (npm). 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-2026-17657/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17657/index.md)","id":"MAL-2026-17657","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17657/index.md","name":"MAL-2026-17657","record":{"aliases":[],"analysis":null,"analysis_generated_by":null,"assigner":null,"cpe":[],"cvss":{"score":null,"severity":null,"source":null,"vector":null,"version":null},"cwes":[],"description":"The package presents itself as a dotenv parser but on require() index.cjs calls a function named dispatchAnalytics() that reads dist/stest.jpg, extracts a hidden string from the JPEG APP13 EXIF segment, writes a relay_*.vbs file to the OS temp directory, and spawns it detached via wscript.exe. The VBS invokes powershell.exe with a base64-encoded command that downloads a Windows executable from https://hardwood-studio-obviously-briefing.trycloudflare.com/download/winhost and starts it hidden. A second shipped file dist/decode.js is a heavily obfuscated loader that RC4-decrypts a base64 blob and executes the result via new Function(require, module, __filename, __dirname, \u003cdecoded\u003e), providing a secondary dynamic-code sink. The bundled package.json embedded inside dist/cli.cjs self-identifies as node-env-buffer@2.2.6, while the published package name is dotenv-runtime@1.0.0 — a repackaged dotenv look-alike. The dispatchAnalytics name and the stest.jpg filename are cover for the dropper chain.","ecosystems":["npm"],"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 dotenv-runtime (npm)","id":"MAL-2026-17657","indexable":true,"kev":null,"kind":"malicious","links":{"ecosystem":"npm","product":null,"products":[],"type":null,"year":"2026"},"n_packages":1,"n_references":null,"packages":[{"ecosystem":"npm","fixed":[],"introduced":[],"last_affected":[],"package":"dotenv-runtime","purl":"pkg:npm/dotenv-runtime","source":"MAL-2026-17657"}],"products":null,"published":"2026-10-08","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-2026-17657/"}