# MAL-2026-17792: Malicious code in nft-metadata-resolver (RubyGems)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `nft-metadata-resolver` (RubyGems)
- **Published:** 11 Oct 2026

## What is MAL-2026-17792?

MAL-2026-17792 is a malicious package in nft-metadata-resolver, published on 11 Oct 2026. 

### Official description

The gem ships a native-extension script at ext/nft_metadata_resolver/extconf.rb that RubyGems auto-executes during `gem install`. The script carries a base64-encoded Ruby payload, decodes it with Base64.decode64 and runs it via eval inside a double-forked, detached, delayed child process. The decoded payload opens a TCP connection to the hardcoded bare-IP endpoint 45.138.12.177:8089 and bridges /bin/sh standard I/O to that socket using IO.popen and IO.copy_stream in both directions, giving the remote endpoint an interactive shell on the installer's host. Execution is gated by sandbox-evasion checks that skip CI environments, ephemeral or sandbox hostnames, generated analyst-shaped usernames, analysis working directories, and hosts with short uptimes, firing only when developer-shaped home-directory signals are present. The gem's advertised identity is inconsistent with its contents: the package is published as nft-metadata-resolver, the README describes a 'bitcoin-rpc-lite' library, and the extension declares a makefile target named bitcoin_rpc_lite_native while shipping no native C/C++ source for a real addon build. The extconf.rb's sole purpose is to decode and execute the embedded payload.

The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'nft-metadata-resolver' @ 0.9.1 (rubygems) as malicious.

It is considered malicious because:

- The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-17792?

Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
MAL-2026-17792 is a malicious package: nft-metadata-resolver (RubyGems). 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-2026-17792/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17792/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17792

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17792/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.