{"answers":{"affected":"1 open source package ship an affected version, including qowa.","exploited":"There is no known exploitation of MAL-2026-18218 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-2026-18218 is a malicious package in qowa, published on 23 Oct 2026."},"fix_prompt":"MAL-2026-18218 is a malicious package: qowa (PyPI). 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-2026-18218/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-18218/index.md)","id":"MAL-2026-18218","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-18218/index.md","name":"MAL-2026-18218","record":{"aliases":[],"analysis":null,"analysis_generated_by":null,"assigner":null,"cpe":[],"cvss":{"score":null,"severity":null,"source":null,"vector":null,"version":null},"cwes":[],"description":"src/qowa/__init__.py contains calls to socket.gethostname() at lines 30, 52, and 247 together with hardcoded Telegram Bot API endpoints (api.telegram.org/bot\u003ctoken\u003e/...) at lines 117 and 135. The code reads installer host identity and transmits it to an attacker-controlled Telegram bot channel, a known pattern for host-reconnaissance exfiltration using Telegram as a C2/collector. The embedded bot token encodes the destination chat under the operator's control, so installing or importing this package leaks the installer's hostname (and any other collected context) off-host to a third party. The package has no documented purpose that would legitimize Telegram-bot delivery of hostname data.\n\nThe package provides a C2 server and agent with pre-filed credentials, disguised as a generic utility.\n\n---\n\nCategory: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.\n\nCampaign: 2026-10-qowa\n\nReasons (based on the campaign):\n\n - rat\n\n - spyware-like\n\n - target:android\n\n - The package contains code to execute remote commands (probably limited to a specific set) on the victim's machine.\n\n - uses-telegram-bot\n\n - files-exfiltration","ecosystems":["PyPI"],"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 qowa (PyPI)","id":"MAL-2026-18218","indexable":true,"kev":null,"kind":"malicious","links":{"ecosystem":"PyPI","product":null,"products":[],"type":null,"year":"2026"},"n_packages":1,"n_references":null,"packages":[{"ecosystem":"PyPI","fixed":[],"introduced":[],"last_affected":[],"package":"qowa","purl":"pkg:pypi/qowa","source":"MAL-2026-18218"}],"products":null,"published":"2026-10-23","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-2026-18218/"}