MAL-2026-5462 Malicious code in @rockawayx/utils (npm)

@rockawayx/utils squats the unclaimed @rockawayx npm scope and runs a preinstall beacon on every install. package.json declares "preinstall": "node notify.js || true"; notify.js collects os.hostname(), os.userInfo().username, os.platform(), and a timestamp and POSTs them as JSON to https://2.25.140.71:8443/rockawayx/depconf-poc with rejectUnauthorized: false (TLS verification disabled). The destination is a hardcoded bare IPv4, not a publisher-owned domain. Any build that resolves @rockawayx/* against the public registry — the canonical dependency-confusion victim — will pull this package and silently transmit host identifiers to the bare IP. The README frames the package as authorized security research, but the code performs the same install-time exfiltration any dependency-confusion attacker would, and consumers in any pipeline (not only the targeted organization) trigger the beacon without consent.

Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.