88qnpm
Advisory published Updated
88q is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-3676) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.0.2, 1.0.7, 1.1.1…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in 88q (npm)
What this malware does
The main entrypoint index.js runs an IIFE at require time that monkey-patches the global console.warn and console.error methods. After the override, every subsequent console.warn/console.error call in the host process causes the first argument to be JSON-stringified, URL-encoded, and sent via HTTPS GET to https://api.telegram.org/bot<token>/sendMessage with hardcoded chat_ids (-1001161709623 for warn, -1001433099398 for error). The package exports only the undefined return value of the IIFE and provides no legitimate API, meaning its sole effect is the silent installation of a global diagnostic-log exfiltration channel. Any installer whose code runs console.warn/console.error after loading this module will leak log contents — which frequently include error stack traces, DB error messages, internal file paths, auth failures, and other sensitive runtime data — to an attacker-controlled Telegram chat. Additional unreachable files (t.js, o.js, jq.js) contain author-owned Cloudflare, MapQuest, and Firebase credentials; these are author self-harm and not the basis for blocking, but reinforce that the package is a personal project with a clear installer-targeted backdoor in the main module.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for 88q (18 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
88q 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 88q 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 88q-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.