{"answers":{"affected":"1 open source package ship an affected version, including web3-eth-util.","exploited":"There is no known exploitation of MAL-2026-6325 in the wild and no public exploit code.","fix":"Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.","what":"MAL-2026-6325 is a malicious package in web3-eth-util, published on 23 Jun 2026."},"fix_prompt":"MAL-2026-6325 is a malicious package: web3-eth-util (npm). Every version was published to cause harm.\n\nTask:\n1. Search this repository's dependency manifests and lockfiles for the package, including transitive dependencies.\n2. If it is present, remove it, regenerate the lockfile with the project's package manager, and replace whatever it was used for.\n3. List any CI runners, developer machines or containers that installed it, so their secrets can be rotated.\n4. If the package is not used anywhere, say so and change nothing.\n\nReference: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-6325/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-6325/index.md)","id":"MAL-2026-6325","markdown":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-6325/index.md","name":"MAL-2026-6325","record":{"aliases":["GHSA-g69q-p7f8-4jp3"],"analysis":null,"analysis_generated_by":null,"assigner":null,"cpe":[],"cvss":{"score":null,"severity":null,"source":null,"vector":null,"version":null},"cwes":[],"description":"Package name and metadata impersonate the legitimate @ethereumjs/util / ethereumjs-util packages: README is copied verbatim from the upstream ethereumjs project (and even instructs users to `npm install eth-util`), the contributor list and repository URL point at ethereumjs/ethereumjs-monorepo, but the package is published under a different name and ownership. The published dist/index.js (line ~57) contains `require(\"assertcore\")` and package.json declares `\"assertcore\": \"^3.1.7\"` as a runtime dependency. The human-authored src/index.ts has no such import, and the browser build at dist.browser/index.js also omits it — the extra require is injected only into the Node-targeted build that ships in the npm tarball, so reviewers reading the GitHub source see clean code while `npm install` + `require('web3-eth-util')` silently loads the third-party 'assertcore' package in the consumer's Node process with full privileges. 'assertcore' is not part of the legitimate @ethereumjs/util sources and resembles a typosquat of the standard 'assert' module. The combination — brand impersonation of a widely used Ethereum utility package, source/dist divergence hiding the injection from GitHub readers, and a require-time pull of an unrelated third-party package — is a dependency-chain dropper pattern that delivers attacker-controlled code to anyone who installs and imports this package.\n\nAny 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.","ecosystems":["npm"],"exploits":{"exploitdb":null,"first_seen":null,"github_poc":null,"max_poc_stars":null,"metasploit":null,"nuclei":null,"refs":[],"tier":null},"has_fix":false,"headline":"Malicious code in web3-eth-util (npm)","id":"MAL-2026-6325","indexable":true,"kev":null,"kind":"malicious","links":{"ecosystem":"npm","product":null,"products":[],"type":null,"year":"2026"},"n_packages":1,"n_references":null,"packages":[{"ecosystem":"npm","fixed":[],"introduced":["0"],"last_affected":[],"package":"web3-eth-util","purl":"pkg:npm/web3-eth-util","source":"MAL-2026-6325"}],"products":null,"published":"2026-06-23","related":[],"sources":[{"class":"attribution","licence":"Apache-2.0","name":"OpenSSF Malicious Packages","prefix":"MAL"}],"ssvc":{"automatable":null,"exploitation":null,"technical_impact":null},"state":null,"updated":null,"vendors":null},"summary":null,"url":"https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-6325/"}