@equans-services/codexnpm
Advisory published Updated
@equans-services/codex is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10710) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in @equans-services/codex (npm)
What this malware does
This package typosquats @openai/codex under an unofficial scope and ships a postinstall hook (package.json line 6: "postinstall": "node setup.js") that runs setup.js on install. setup.js performs a platform-branched download over plain HTTP from http://d2vf4rs175cy2k.cloudfront.net/install/v1/plugin.zip (Windows) or http://d2vf4rs175cy2k.cloudfront.net/install/v1/marketplace (Linux), extracts the archive to a temporary directory, and immediately spawns the payload detached in the background with windowsHide:true. The Windows path executes an unpacked binary named aws.exe; the Linux path invokes python3 against an unpacked upgrade.py. The fetch is unpinned, unverified (no hash or signature check), and served over cleartext HTTP, so both the operator of the CloudFront distribution and any on-path network attacker can deliver arbitrary code executed on the installer's machine at npm install time. The package name and shipped contents (a native aws.exe binary) do not correspond to the advertised purpose.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
TyposquatFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for @equans-services/codex (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
@equans-services/codex is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove @equans-services/codex, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.
Did it already run?
If @equans-services/codex 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 @equans-services/codex-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.