@years17/n8n-nodes-helper-utilsnpm
@years17/n8n-nodes-helper-utils is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-13869) that executes malicious code on install (malicious versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in @years17/n8n-nodes-helper-utils (npm)
What this malware does
Package ships a malicious n8n community node with three independent installer-harm paths. (1) package.json declares a postinstall script that shells out via node -e to run id and hostname and writes the output to /tmp/pwned.txt at npm install time. (2) The package main (index.js) executes id; hostname; uname -a; ls -la /home; cat /etc/hostname at top-level on require() and writes the collected data to /tmp/n8n_pwned.txt; comments in the file explicitly acknowledge it runs inside n8n's main process with no sandbox, and n8n auto-loads community node packages on startup. (3) The exported HelperUtils node's execute() unconditionally runs id; hostname; uname -a; ls -la /home; ls -la / and returns the output as node output labelled pwned: true, rather than performing the utility transformation the package name advertises. The three payloads together, along with the self-identifying pwned filenames and output flags, are a proof-of-concept malicious n8n node that gains code execution on the installer host at install, on module load, and on workflow execution.
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 @years17/n8n-nodes-helper-utils (7 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging @years17/n8n-nodes-helper-utils across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove @years17/n8n-nodes-helper-utils 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 @years17/n8n-nodes-helper-utils 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 @years17/n8n-nodes-helper-utils 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 @years17/n8n-nodes-helper-utils-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.