# MAL-2026-4391: Malicious code in @gad360/apothem (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `@gad360/apothem` (npm)
- **Published:** 21 May 2026

## What is MAL-2026-4391?

MAL-2026-4391 is a malicious package in @gad360/apothem, published on 21 May 2026. 

### Official description

The package's package.json declares a postinstall hook ("postinstall": "node install.js") that runs install.js automatically on npm install. install.js requires fs, os, https, and child_process, reads environment variables and host metadata (process.env, process.platform, process.arch, os.tmpdir, fs.readFileSync), and issues an https.get to the hardcoded endpoint https://ahmedgad.com. The combination of a hardcoded non-publisher destination with environment/system reads inside a lifecycle script is the canonical install-time exfiltration shape. The destination is unrelated to any documented vendor SDK or runtime CDN, and there is no version pinning, hash verification, or build-from-source justification for the network call.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-4391?

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-2026-4391 is a malicious package: @gad360/apothem (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-2026-4391/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-4391/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-4391

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-4391/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.