@bowozzz/baileysnpm
Advisory published Updated
@bowozzz/baileys is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-11176) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.0.0, 6.6.6, 6.6.7…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in @bowozzz/baileys (npm)
What this malware does
Package is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library. A single static pattern fired on lib/Utils/generics.js where the tokens 'ping' and 'GET' appear alongside identifier strings, matching a generic network+command keyword co-occurrence rule. In Baileys, 'ping' refers to the WhatsApp XMPP-style ping/keepalive stanza used to maintain the WebSocket connection, and 'GET' refers to protocol query types — not to OS ping execution or HTTP exfiltration. No install/postinstall lifecycle scripts, no top-level import-time network activity to attacker infrastructure, no reads of installer secrets (~/.aws, ~/.ssh, ~/.npmrc, browser stores), no credential-harvest fingerprint, and no hardcoded C2 destination were observed. The finding is consistent with a false-positive keyword match on the library's WhatsApp protocol code.
Any 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.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for @bowozzz/baileys (10 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
@bowozzz/baileys is built to steal secrets, so assume every credential the build or runtime could read is compromised. Remove it from your project and lockfile, then rotate ALL exposed secrets — npm/registry tokens, cloud keys, CI/CD secrets, SSH keys, and any .env values — from a known-clean machine. Audit logs for unauthorized use of those credentials.
Did it already run?
If @bowozzz/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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks @bowozzz/baileys-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.