MAL-2026-5898 Malicious code in strict-engine-peer (npm)
Malicious package
Published
MAL-2026-5898 is a malicious package: strict-engine-peer (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-2026-5898/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-5898/index.md)
- Package
- strict-engine-peer
- Registry
- npm
What is MAL-2026-5898?
MAL-2026-5898 is a malicious package in strict-engine-peer, published on 16 Jun 2026.
Official description
On
npm install, the package's preinstall hook (preinstall: node index.js in package.json) executes index.js, which reads the installer's project directory via process.env.INIT_CWD, takes its basename as safeProjectName, and POSTs a JSON payload containing that name and a timestamp to a hardcoded callback URL https://deepbounty.dd06-dev.fr/cb/d9b7e171-33a4-49c7-aa79-c95794030d3b. The package self-describes as a 'Security PoC for Bug Bounty' / 'Harmless dependency confusion PoC', and the name strict-engine-peer is consistent with squatting an internal/private package name on the public npm registry. Any developer or build system that resolves this package — typically by accident, via dependency confusion against an internal package of the same name — silently discloses the existence and name of an internal project to the third-party endpoint. The 'research' framing does not change the installer-side impact: unconsented network beacon at install time, leaking organizational metadata to an attacker-controlled host.What should I do about MAL-2026-5898?
Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.