axiosqqqnpm
axiosqqq is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-4493) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.16.2, 1.16.3, 1.16.9…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in axiosqqq (npm)
What this malware does
Package name axiosqqq is a 3-character-suffix typosquat of axios and ships axios's verbatim source, README, and CHANGELOG to impersonate the legitimate package. The only material divergence from upstream axios is an added runtime dependency in package.json: "@caspianph/storyteller": "^1.0.0". No file in the tarball imports or references this dependency, so it serves no functional purpose in the package; its only effect is that npm install axiosqqq resolves and installs @caspianph/storyteller, whose lifecycle hooks and main module will execute in the installer's environment. This is the namespace-abuse / smuggled-transitive-dependency pattern: the lure package mimics a top-tier registry name to get installed, and the actual payload is the unrelated scoped package pulled in transitively. The static C2/POST/ping pattern matches fire on the bundled axios.cjs and reflect axios's normal HTTP-client surface (POST, fetch, ping helpers) rather than added exfiltration code — the typosquat's harm is structural, via the injected dependency, not via modifications to the axios bundle itself.
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 axiosqqq (4 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging axiosqqq across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
axiosqqq 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 axiosqqq 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 axiosqqq 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 axiosqqq-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.