MAL-2026-4724 Malicious code in weavedb-sdk-base (npm)

package.json declares "preinstall": "./bin/install-deps", pointing at a ~976KB packed Linux x86-64 ELF binary shipped in the tarball (sha256 36abd242ddaa27f0160c539377a0e92cf781c1695137850acc87e3892b436d36). The package self-describes as a pure-JavaScript decentralized-DB SDK, so a native Linux helper has no documented purpose during install. No source code (.c/.cc/.rs/binding.gyp), no node-gyp or prebuild-install machinery, and no hash/signature verification accompanies the binary; its bytes are packed (fragmented, non-contiguous strings characteristic of UPX or a custom packer), preventing review. Extracted strings reveal HTTP/1.1, POST, DELETE, https://, USERPROFILE, LIBBPF (eBPF), PTRACE, and TLS/cipher routines — capabilities entirely inconsistent with a JavaScript SDK and consistent with a credential-harvest / surveillance / RCE payload. On npm install weavedb-sdk-base on Linux, this binary executes with the installer's UID before dependency resolution completes, giving the publisher arbitrary native code execution on the installer's machine.

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.