MAL-2026-4726 Malicious code in weavedb-tools (npm)

package.json declares "preinstall": "./dist/runtime.node", which directly executes a ~976KB Linux ELF binary at every npm install. The .node extension (normally reserved for Node native addons loaded via require()) is misused here — the file is invoked as a shell command, not loaded as an addon, a naming choice that evades scanners which treat .node files as benign native bindings. The binary is packed/encrypted (large opaque regions, no source, no binding.gyp, no build manifest) and its strings include LIBBPF_0.0, PTRACE, /proc, USERPROFILE, https://, HTTP/1.1, POST, and DELETE — capabilities (eBPF instrumentation, process tracing, outbound HTTP, cross-platform user-home enumeration) wholly unrelated to the package's advertised purpose (a thin CLI helper). Legitimate prior versions of this package shipped only index.js and a workspace template with no preinstall hook and no native binary; the addition of an opaque packed ELF executed at install time is consistent with a compromised-publish or typosquat-republish supply-chain attack. Installer impact: arbitrary attacker-controlled native code runs with the user's privileges on every npm install, with capabilities to ptrace other processes, instrument the kernel via BPF, enumerate the home directory, and exfiltrate over HTTPS.

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.