@whalent/agentnpm
@whalent/agent is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10721) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 0.3.230, 0.3.231, 0.3.232…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in @whalent/agent (npm)
What this malware does
The package installs a whalent CLI daemon that opens a persistent WebSocket connection (wss://) to a Whalent Memory gateway and, per its own README, accepts remote commands including 'upgrade' and 'restart' from that gateway. dist/index.cjs contains an npmInstallCommand builder that assembles npm install -g @whalent/agent@<version> --registry=<DEFAULT_NPM_REGISTRY|CHINA_NPM_REGISTRY> strings driven by the gateway's chosen version — meaning whoever controls (or compromises) the gateway can cause the daemon's host to install and execute an arbitrary version of the package as the user running the daemon. The core bundle additionally references process.env.SHELL and localhost RDP/VNC ports (127.0.0.1:3389, 5900, 5901), and the dependency set includes @xterm/headless, node-pty (optional), ssh2, and ws, indicating terminal/PTY and remote-session capability reachable from the same gateway channel. Both dist/index.cjs (main/bin entry) and the 13 MB dist/core.cjs are transformed with javascript-obfuscator (string-array rotator, _0x-named helpers, control-flow flattening), and javascript-obfuscator is listed in devDependencies — the obfuscation covers the gateway command dispatcher and shell sinks. The daemon fires only when the operator explicitly runs whalent --token …, not on npm install or on require(), but once running it provides a network-reachable code-execution and shell surface on the host controlled by the gateway operator.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for @whalent/agent (41 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging @whalent/agent across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
@whalent/agent 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 @whalent/agent 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 @whalent/agent 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 @whalent/agent-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.