axl-uinpm
axl-ui is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-5742) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 9.9.99). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in axl-ui (npm)
What this malware does
[email protected] is a dependency-confusion squat targeting an internal package name. package.json declares a postinstall hook (node beacon.js) that fires automatically on npm install. beacon.js reads os.hostname() and transmits it to a hardcoded Burp Collaborator out-of-band host (tspeuj1fodn3cj8v30uck2fs4jaby1mq.oastify.com) via two channels: a DNS lookup of <nonce>.host.<collaborator> and an HTTPS POST with JSON body {pkg, nonce, host}. The version number 9.9.99 and the self-described "internal placeholder" description are the canonical dependency-confusion shape: any private build that resolves axl-ui from public npm will execute the beacon and leak the host identity to the attacker. Even if framed as a research proof-of-concept, the harm to installers is real — installer-side data leaves the build machine to an attacker-controlled endpoint without consent.
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.
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'axl-ui' @ 9.9.99 (npm) as malicious.
It is considered malicious because:
- The package communicates with a domain associated with malicious activity.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for axl-ui (version 9.9.99). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging axl-ui across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
axl-ui establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.
Did it already run?
If axl-ui 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 axl-ui 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 axl-ui-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.