@baileys-md/baileysnpm
Advisory published Updated
@baileys-md/baileys is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-18807) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 12.2.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in @baileys-md/baileys (npm)
What this malware does
@baileys-md/baileys is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library. In version 12.2.0, makeNewsletterSocket in lib/Socket/newsletter.js starts a timer that, 80 seconds after the socket is created, sends the WhatsApp w:mex FOLLOW query for the channels 120363419781122699@newsletter and 120363388692253922@newsletter through the user's authenticated session, with errors swallowed and without telling the user. Releases 12.2.1 to 12.3.2 ship the same block commented out, so they are not listed. Same behaviour as the PhantomSub family (MAL-2026-17342).
Malicious versions
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for @baileys-md/baileys (version 12.2.0).
If you installed it — respond
Remove @baileys-md/baileys from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.
Did it already run?
If @baileys-md/baileys was installed, its post-install payload may already have run. Removing the package does not undo that — check outbound connections and credential use from the install window onward.
Frequently asked questions
References
Credits
- CyberXYZ · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks @baileys-md/baileys-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the malicious outbound activity and severs the channel.