MAL-2026-3707 Malicious code in ethers-common (npm)

package.json declares a postinstall hook that base64-decodes the URL http://8.217.75.147:3000/payload, fetches it via curl over plain HTTP, and pipes the response directly into bash. This executes attacker-controlled code on every installer's machine at npm install time, with no integrity verification and an obfuscated (base64) destination. The package itself is a hollow lure: index.js exports an empty object, and the package name and description ("Utilities for Web3/ethers development") impersonate the well-known ethers Web3 library to bait installs. The combination of bare-IP C2, plain HTTP, base64-obfuscated URL, curl|bash dropper in a lifecycle hook, and an empty cover-story library is unambiguous supply-chain attack.

The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'ethers-common' @ 1.0.0 (npm) as malicious.

It is considered malicious because:

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