# MAL-2026-6774: Malicious code in @marketfront/devtoolsloader (npm)


- **Type:** Malicious package
- **Package:** `@marketfront/devtoolsloader` (npm)
- **Published:** 2 Jul 2026

## What is MAL-2026-6774?

MAL-2026-6774 is a malicious package in @marketfront/devtoolsloader, published on 2 Jul 2026. 

### Official description

The @marketfront/devtoolsloader package is part of a 25-package malicious campaign batch-published to the @marketfront npm scope by npm user 'marketfront' (marketfront@tutamail.com) within a roughly 3-minute window on 2026-07-01. All packages in the campaign were published at version 7.0.0 and use e-commerce/marketing frontend component names as cover.

The package declares a postinstall hook (node scripts/postinstall.js) that executes heavily obfuscated (obfuscator.io-style) code automatically at npm install time. Static analysis of the decoded payload revealed a credential harvester that dynamically requires fs, os, http, https, zlib, path and dns, then reads approximately 20 sensitive credential files including ~/.ssh, ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.kube/config, ~/.docker/config.json, ~/.npmrc, ~/.netrc, ~/.pgpass, ~/.git-credentials, ~/.env and ~/.bash_history. Collected data is exfiltrated via a gzip-compressed HTTPS POST with a custom X-Secret header to the path /api/v1/events, alongside a DNS resolver beacon. The command-and-control host is concealed behind an additional RC4+XOR encryption layer around an embedded configuration blob and was not statically resolved.

The decoded behavioral payload (module requires, credential-file target list, exfiltration headers and endpoint) is byte-for-byte identical across sampled packages in the campaign. The campaign shares tooling and infrastructure patterns (obfuscated postinstall credential harvester, X-Secret header, /api/v1/events exfiltration path, RC4-concealed C2) with the earlier @emcd-vue campaign, indicating the same actor rotating scopes and disposable maintainer emails.

The package ships a heavily obfuscated postinstall script (scripts/postinstall.js, ~161 KB, obfuscator.io RC4 string-array with control-flow flattening) invoked from package.json ("postinstall": "node scripts/postinstall.js"). At npm install time the script collects host identifiers (os.userInfo(), os.networkInterfaces(), hostname), enumerates process.env against embedded char-code-encoded arrays of credential-shaped variable names (USERDOMAIN, COMPUTERNAME, APPDATA, LOCALAPPDATA, TEMP, PROGRAMDATA, and additional token/secret-shaped keys), and reads installer-side dotfiles (shell history / rc files) via decoded absolute paths. The payload is XOR-encrypted and transmitted via https.request POST and DNS queries to a destination decoded from the obfuscated string array. Execution is gated on sandbox-evasion checks (process.argv[0]/argv[1] inspection, NODE_OPTIONS blocklist tokens, Date.now spin-loop timing) so the payload only fires on real developer machines. The package advertises a fictitious internal corporate infrastructure (@marketfront scope, github.marketfront.io, npm.marketfront.io) and ships no functional library — dist/index.js re-exports../src/index.js which is absent from the tarball — consistent with a dependency-confusion lure targeting developers expecting an internal @marketfront/* package. Installing this package on a developer or CI machine results in exfiltration of environment variables (including any credentials present in env), host identity, and shell history/config file contents to an attacker-controlled endpoint.

## What should I do about MAL-2026-6774?

Remove the package from your dependencies and lockfiles, then rotate any secrets on machines where it was installed.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
MAL-2026-6774 is a malicious package: @marketfront/devtoolsloader (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-2026-6774/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-6774/index.md)
```

## Sources

- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-6774

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/MAL-2026-6774/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.