MAL-2026-5423 Malicious code in @nstrlabs/utils (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-5423 is a malicious package: @nstrlabs/utils (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-2026-5423/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-5423/index.md)
- Package
- @nstrlabs/utils
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-5423?
MAL-2026-5423 is a malicious package in @nstrlabs/utils, published on 9 Jun 2026.
Official description
On
npm install, the package's preinstall script (node index.js || true) executes automatically and collects host identifiers from the installer's machine — os.hostname(), os.userInfo().username, __dirname, and process.cwd() — then exfiltrates them through two channels. First, the JSON payload is POSTed to a hardcoded bare IP http://172.201.213.59:9090/c. Second, the data is hex-encoded into a subdomain and resolved via DNS against *.d8jbmnsqcfu78dfs8vdg34ohqhirb4pbg.oast.live, an Interactsh out-of-band beacon. The || true suffix swallows any error so the install always succeeds silently. Although the package metadata describes itself as 'security research', every installer is harmed: host reconnaissance fires unconditionally on install with no opt-out and no disclosure.What should I do about MAL-2026-5423?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.