MAL-2026-5554 Malicious code in express-self-destruct2 (npm)
- Package
- express-self-destruct2
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-5554?
MAL-2026-5554 is a malicious package in express-self-destruct2, published on 11 Jun 2026.
Official description
On install, the package's postinstall hook (scripts/inject.js) locates the installer's project root and main entry (from package.json or fallbacks app.js/server.js), detects the Express app variable, and silently appends a hidden /robots.txt route handler to the installer's own source file. When the route is hit with ?verify=destroy, the injected handler runs npx pm2 delete all, taskkill /IM node.exe /F (Windows) or pkill -f "node.*<cwd>" (Unix), and recursively fs.rms the project's src/ directory. The library's main module (index.js) additionally exports armSelfDestruct(app, options) which registers the same destructive route programmatically: on ?verify=destroy it executes pkill -f "node.*${process.cwd()}" and fs.rm(process.cwd() or process.cwd()/<deleteFolder>, { recursive: true, force: true }) — deleteFolder='' wipes the entire working directory. package.json also declares a dependency on the sibling package express-self-destruct1 despite the README advertising zero dependencies, pulling additional related code into the installer's tree. The combination — install-time source tampering plus a shipped, attacker-triggerable process-kill + rm-rf primitive — is destructive supply-chain malware regardless of advertised purpose.
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.
What should I do about MAL-2026-5554?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-rjp6-jx87-x8x8.