@tink/tink-link-corenpm
Advisory published Updated
@tink/tink-link-core is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16270) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 9.9.10). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in @tink/tink-link-core (npm)
What this malware does
The package impersonates the Tink open-banking SDK (name @tink/tink-link-core, description 'Enterprise-grade client core for open banking', homepage github.com/tink-link/core) but its actual behavior is host reconnaissance and DNS exfiltration. The package.json install script runs node index.js, and both the install entry and main entry load lib/core.js, which reads os.userInfo().username, os.hostname(), and process.cwd(), joins them with a prefix and a hardcoded domain as DNS labels, and issues a dns.resolve4() lookup. The destination hostname and module/API names are reconstructed at runtime from hex byte arrays via Buffer.from(...).toString('utf8') in lib/b02e30.js and lib/6ad264.js — the decoded domain is oob.algamil7x.xyz and the label prefix is tinkcore. Module names 'os','dns','process' and API names 'userInfo','hostname','cwd','resolve4' are loaded via module.constructor._load with hex-decoded strings to hide them from static review. DNS-based egress bypasses HTTP proxy and firewall controls. The beacon fires automatically on npm install (via the install lifecycle script) and again on require() of the package, giving the attacker installer username, hostname, and current working directory for every affected environment.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for @tink/tink-link-core (version 9.9.10).
If you installed it — respond
@tink/tink-link-core 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 @tink/tink-link-core 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 @tink/tink-link-core-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.