# MAL-2026-5419: Malicious code in @nstrlabs/auth (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `@nstrlabs/auth` (npm)
- **Published:** 9 Jun 2026

## What is MAL-2026-5419?

MAL-2026-5419 is a malicious package in @nstrlabs/auth, published on 9 Jun 2026. 

### Official description

On `npm install`, the package's preinstall hook (`node index.js || true`, declared in package.json) automatically collects host identifiers — `os.hostname()`, `os.userInfo().username`, `__dirname`, and `process.cwd()` — and exfiltrates them through two channels: (1) a DNS lookup to a hex-encoded subdomain of `d8jbmnsqcfu78dfs8vdg34ohqhirb4pbg.oast.live` (an out-of-band interaction canary), and (2) an HTTP POST of the JSON payload to the bare IP `172.201.213.59` on port 9090 at path `/c`. The package ships no other functionality; the entire codebase is a beacon. Combined with the implausible version `99.0.0`, the `@nstrlabs` scope, and the self-described 'security research' purpose, this has the canonical shape of a dependency-confusion attack against a private `@nstrlabs/auth` namespace, where any organization that mistakenly resolves the public registry copy will leak internal hostnames and developer identities to the attacker.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-5419?

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-2026-5419 is a malicious package: @nstrlabs/auth (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-2026-5419/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-5419/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-5419

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-5419/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.