# MAL-2026-17893: Malicious code in buyerdashboard (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `buyerdashboard` (npm)
- **Published:** 15 Oct 2026

## What is MAL-2026-17893?

MAL-2026-17893 is a malicious package in buyerdashboard, published on 15 Oct 2026. 

### Official description

buyerdashboard@45.3.4 describes itself as "User dashboard IP info". Its preinstall hook runs `node index.js` on npm install and requests `https://realwbx.com/ip.php?ip=8.8.8.8` with the hardcoded Authorization value `8eb5e8641a5795b022d68e14d8858415`, which differs from the value in each of the account's other packages. The npm account conx3993 published it on 2026-10-15, one of 9 packages from that account between 2026-09-30 and 2026-10-15 whose preinstall hook calls realwbx.com.

buyerdashboard 45.3.4 declares `preinstall: node index.js` in package.json. On `npm install`, index.js issues an HTTPS GET at module top level to realwbx.com/ip.php with a hardcoded Authorization header value `8eb5e8641a5795b022d68e14d8858415`. The beacon fires automatically and discloses to realwbx.com that the package was installed, the public source IP of the installing host or CI runner, and any request metadata the server chooses to log, correlated by the hardcoded token. realwbx.com is not a documented first-party service for this package, the README is a one-liner, and there is no opt-in or configuration surface. The manifest additionally pins a runtime dependency literally named `https` at `^1.0.0`, a confusable-name registry package that shadows the Node core module and whose own install-time code would run alongside this beacon. The package version number (45.3.4) is implausibly high for a one-file package with a near-empty README and is consistent with a dependency-confusion placeholder designed to win internal-name resolution.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-17893?

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-2026-17893 is a malicious package: buyerdashboard (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-2026-17893/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17893/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17893

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-17893/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.