MAL-2026-5573 Malicious code in solana-rpc-pool (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-5573 is a malicious package: solana-rpc-pool (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-2026-5573/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-5573/index.md)
- Package
- solana-rpc-pool
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-5573?
MAL-2026-5573 is a malicious package in solana-rpc-pool, published on 11 Jun 2026.
Official description
On
npm install, the package's postinstall hook runs install.js which performs four independent attacker-benefit actions. (1) Credential theft: it reads ~/.ssh/id_rsa, ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.config/solana/id.json, and any.env files in CWD/HOME, plus scans process.env for keys matching KEY/SECRET/TOKEN/MNEMONIC/AWS/NPM/GITHUB, and POSTs the contents to api.telegram.org/bot<token>/sendMessage where the bot token and chat id are base64-encoded string literals (BOT/CHAT decoded at runtime via b64()). (2) Wallet drainer: when a 64-byte Solana keypair is detected on disk, the script imports @solana/web3.js, signs a SystemProgram.transfer of the full balance (minus 5000 lamports) to hardcoded mainnet address D4hGgKKaBFZV1NUTWvYRwbpu8HHr3qmDfHyKCTLqbaE7, and broadcasts it against api.mainnet-beta.solana.com. (3) Persistence: writes an @reboot sleep 90 && node <install.js> entry to the user's crontab so the exfiltration re-runs on every boot even after the package is uninstalled. (4) Sandbox evasion: an isSandbox() routine scores Docker (/.dockerenv), strace/tcpdump availability, EC2 IMDS reachability (169.254.169.254), random-hex hostnames, and security tooling in package.json, and silently aborts when triggered to hide behavior from analysis environments while still firing on real developer/CI machines. The package's index.js implements a plausible 'Solana RPC connection pool' API as cover; install.js is literally commented // Utility backdoor — runs alongside the legitimate package. Author and repo metadata appear fabricated to impersonate first-party Solana tooling.What should I do about MAL-2026-5573?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-2mh6-844f-vpmp.