array-sort-helpernpm
array-sort-helper is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-11118) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in array-sort-helper (npm)
What this malware does
The npm postinstall script in [email protected] automatically runs on npm install and executes a shell reconnaissance and exfiltration routine. postinstall.js collects hostname, user, pwd, uname, container/docker markers, process tree, GitHub Actions CI variables (GITHUB_REPOSITORY, GITHUB_ACTOR, GITHUB_RUN_ID, RUNNER_NAME, CI), local IPs, /etc/resolv.conf, AWS and Tencent cloud instance-metadata (IMDS) probes, and a full dump of process environment variables (filtering only npm_* noise). The collected data is base64-encoded and sent via HTTP GET to a hardcoded Burp Collaborator subdomain at pzs5w7ntzhsnepwk564lyfdci3oucl0a.oastify.com/z?d=<base64>. The package presents itself as an array-sort utility but ships no such functionality; index.js contains unrelated color helper code. The behavior is credential and secret harvesting targeted at CI runners and cloud workloads.
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'array-sort-helper' @ 1.0.0 (npm) as malicious.
It is considered malicious because:
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The package communicates with a domain associated with malicious activity.
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The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.
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 array-sort-helper (version 1.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging array-sort-helper across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
array-sort-helper 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 array-sort-helper 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 array-sort-helper 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
- OpenSSF: Package Analysis · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks array-sort-helper-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.