Which versions of async-mutex-lock are malicious?

The following npm versions of async-mutex-lock are flagged malicious: 5.3.1. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate async-mutex-lock if I installed it?

async-mutex-lock 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.

I already installed async-mutex-lock — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If async-mutex-lock 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.

Is async-mutex-lock part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — async-mutex-lock is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-014909, GHSA-vwr9-j5fc-42fq campaign. Packages in the same campaign often share infrastructure and payloads, so check whether any related packages are also in your dependency tree.

How do I find async-mutex-lock across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for async-mutex-lock (version 5.3.1).

Malicious package

async-mutex-locknpm

Advisory published Aug 5, 2026Updated Aug 6, 2026

async-mutex-lock is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12513) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 5.3.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in async-mutex-lock (npm)

MAL-2026-12513

Immediate action

Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.

npm uninstall async-mutex-lock

What this malware does

The package is advertised as a mutex-lock utility but ships none of the documented API (no Mutex/lock/unlock). Its sole export, getPlugin in index.js, assembles a URL from split protocol/domain/path variables resolving to https://31.97.137.157:45000/icons/108, fetches a JSON response, and passes the response field data.credits to new Function(...) invoked with full require/process/Buffer context — executing attacker-controlled JavaScript on the caller's host. Variable framing references CDN names (cloudflare, fastly, akamai, cdnjs/font-awesome) as a decoy over a bare-IP destination unrelated to any CDN. Declared dependencies (@primno/dpapi, node-machine-id, better-sqlite3, socket.io-client) are consistent with infostealer staging (DPAPI decryption, machine fingerprinting, SQLite reads of browser stores, socket-based C2). The name resembles the popular async-mutex package.

Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

5.3.1

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

e195fef439eb6af3d28576857a30030e4bd839406fa36b2f939279743f12188e

1f07bc4e9d844bdfd01a18eb7fb1efecbba0e9a1380f2b23bddf708fa4c24c52

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for async-mutex-lock (version 5.3.1).
If you installed it — respond
async-mutex-lock 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 async-mutex-lock 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

No. async-mutex-lock on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 5.3.1 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-014909GHSA-vwr9-j5fc-42fq

References

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks async-mutex-lock-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

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