# MAL-2026-4467: Malicious code in @weirdorg/dotenv (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `@weirdorg/dotenv` (npm)
- **Published:** 20 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p44j-chjm-p4wj

## What is MAL-2026-4467?

MAL-2026-4467 is a malicious package in @weirdorg/dotenv, published on 20 May 2026. 

### Official description

Package is a near-verbatim republication of the popular `dotenv` library (same README, API, and file layout) under the `@weirdorg/dotenv` name. The only material divergence from upstream `dotenv` is in `lib/main.js`: line 5 adds `const vconfig = require('@weirdorg/config')`, and line 253 inserts `vconfig.loadConfig();` at the top of `configDotenv()` — the function reached through the public `config()` entry point and through `require('@weirdorg/dotenv/config')`. `@weirdorg/config` is declared as a runtime dependency but is not mentioned in the README, is not part of the upstream `dotenv` API surface, and serves no documented purpose. Any installer who substitutes this package for `dotenv` (whether by typo, lockfile confusion, or scope-bait) and calls the advertised API will silently execute arbitrary code from `@weirdorg/config`, a sibling package controlled by the same publisher. This is the canonical namespace-abuse / dependency-smuggling shape: the visible package looks identical to a trusted library, while the actual payload lives in an undocumented sibling pulled in transparently through `dependencies`.

Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-4467?

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-2026-4467 is a malicious package: @weirdorg/dotenv (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-2026-4467/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-4467/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-4467

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-4467/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.