MAL-2026-4551 Malicious code in encrata-cli (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-4551 is a malicious package: encrata-cli (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-2026-4551/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-4551/index.md)
- Package
- encrata-cli
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-4551?
MAL-2026-4551 is a malicious package in encrata-cli, published on 20 May 2026.
Official description
package.json declares
"postinstall": "node install.js", which runs at install time. install.js requires both child_process and https, branches on process.platform to enumerate host details, and issues an outbound https.get(...) carrying the collected data. This is the canonical install-time system-information exfiltration shape: child_process to spawn host-info commands, platform-gated logic to pick the right binary per OS, and HTTPS egress to ship the result. There is no legitimate reason for a CLI's postinstall to gather host metadata and POST/GET it off-host. Installing this package on any machine (developer laptop, CI runner, build server) discloses host details to a remote endpoint and provides an install-time code-execution surface.What should I do about MAL-2026-4551?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.