@helpcentre/tesco-helpnpm
Malicious code in @helpcentre/tesco-help (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
What this malware does
On npm install, the postinstall hook runs node index.js, which performs an HTTPS POST to https://f1ackavab3.execute-api.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/ carrying the installer's hostname (os.hostname()) and current working directory (process.cwd()) as JSON. The package has no other functionality. The scoped name @helpcentre/tesco-help targets a Tesco-branded internal namespace, and the inflated 999.0.0 version is the canonical dependency-confusion technique used to override a private package of the same name when an installer's registry config falls back to public npm. Installers who resolve this package leak host-identifying reconnaissance data to an attacker-controlled API Gateway endpoint, enabling targeted follow-on attacks against the affected build environment.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for @helpcentre/tesco-help (version 999.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging @helpcentre/tesco-help across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove @helpcentre/tesco-help 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 @helpcentre/tesco-help was ever installed, its post-install/runtime payload may have already executed. O3's L7 egress monitoring and runtime eBPF sensors detect the credential exfiltration or command-and-control callback after install and block the malicious outbound channel, so you catch and contain the actual compromise — not just the presence of the package.
How O3 protects you
O3 blocks @helpcentre/tesco-help before install through its supply-chain scanner, and if it has already run, detects and severs the exfiltration or C2 callback at runtime through L7 egress monitoring and eBPF.
Frequently asked questions
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks @helpcentre/tesco-help-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.