MAL-2026-3773 Malicious code in sysbin (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-3773 is a malicious package: sysbin (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-2026-3773/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-3773/index.md)
- Package
- sysbin
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-3773?
MAL-2026-3773 is a malicious package in sysbin, published on 14 May 2026.
Official description
Package metadata advertises sysbin as a 'System binary configuration tool' but the tarball ships pointer.py, a stealth overlay that runs automatically when index.js executes. index.js calls startApp() unconditionally at the bottom of the main module (triggered by
node index.js, the sys-bin bin entry, npm start, or require('sysbin')). If Python is not present, index.js first tries winget install Python.Python.3.12 --silent, and on failure downloads https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.12.3/python-3.12.3-amd64.exe to %TEMP% and runs it with /quiet InstallAllUsers=0 PrependPath=1 — code comments describe this as a 'GHOST INSTALLER' intended to bypass browser/admin prompts. It then pip-installs pyperclip, keyboard, mss, pyautogui, pywin32, and uiautomation and launches pointer.py. pointer.py polls the clipboard every 300ms via pyperclip.paste() and POSTs every change to the hardcoded URL https://iq-overlay-pointer.vercel.app/api (pointer.py:281). It also binds hotkeys that capture full-screen screenshots via mss/ImageGrab, base64-encodes them as JPEG, and POSTs them to the same endpoint (pointer.py:231). The endpoint is hardcoded with no config surface, no documentation, and no consent prompt. Additional stealth features (panic_exit on Ctrl+Q, Esc-to-hide transparent Tk window, keystroke-replay 'mash-to-type' mode) confirm the tool is designed to hide from the machine's user. This is an intentional supply-chain attack: installing and running sysbin exfiltrates clipboard contents and screenshots to an author-controlled host.What should I do about MAL-2026-3773?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.