# MAL-2026-4483: Malicious code in arnext-arkb (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `arnext-arkb` (npm)
- **Published:** 26 May 2026

## What is MAL-2026-4483?

MAL-2026-4483 is a malicious package in arnext-arkb, published on 26 May 2026. 

### Official description

package.json declares `"preinstall": "./bin/install-deps"`, which points at a 976,568-byte Linux x86-64 ELF executable shipped in the tarball with no source, no build system, and no documentation. The binary is run as the installing user on every `npm install`. Strings inside the ELF include `LIBBPF`, `PTRACE`, `HTTP/1.1`, `POST`, `USERPROFILE`, and `Ed25519` — capabilities (eBPF, process tracing, HTTP POST, cross-platform home-directory paths, key handling) that are unrelated to an Arweave deploy CLI. The package is also a clear impersonation of the legitimate Arweave `arkb` tool: it declares `"bin": { "arkb": "./bin/app.js" }` so `npx arkb` resolves to this package, its commands.js duplicates the real arkb help output (`arkb ${command + usage}`), and it lists `@textury/ardb` as a dependency to ride on the textury/Arweave brand. The combination of a typosquat lure plus an opaque preinstall native binary with no matching source is the canonical install-time-RCE / dropper pattern: any developer who runs `npm install arnext-arkb` (or installs it transitively) executes attacker-controlled native code under their own account before any other code runs.

This package was compromised as part of the IronWorm campaign. This campaign executes a malicious binary payload during installation via a preinstall hook. The payload is a Rust-built infostealer that targets developer environments, scanning for and harvesting credentials related to cloud providers, object storage, databases, source-control, package registries, and AI developer tools. It also targets cryptocurrency wallets, specifically injecting a malicious JavaScript hook into the Exodus desktop wallet to capture passwords and recovery phrases. Furthermore, the malware exhibits worm-like behavior by stealing GitHub and NPM credentials to push malicious updates to the victim's repositories and publish trojanized packages, and it uses an eBPF-based kernel rootkit to hide its processes and network connections on Linux systems.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-4483?

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-2026-4483 is a malicious package: arnext-arkb (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-2026-4483/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-4483/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-4483

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-4483/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.