Which versions of break-after are malicious?

The following npm versions of break-after are flagged malicious: 9999.0.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate break-after if I installed it?

break-after 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 break-after — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If break-after 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 break-after part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — break-after is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-014932 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 break-after across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for break-after (version 9999.0.0).

Malicious package

break-afternpm

Advisory published Aug 5, 2026Updated Aug 5, 2026

break-after is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12518) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 9999.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in break-after (npm)

MAL-2026-12518

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall break-after

What this malware does

The package's preinstall script runs automatically on npm install and collects os.hostname(), os.userInfo().username, process.cwd(), the configured npm registry, and a set of CI/repository environment variables, then sends the values as query-string parameters in an HTTP GET to the hardcoded bare-IP endpoint http://75.119.137.232:31337/depconfuse. The version number 9999.0.0 combined with the name of an existing public package and preinstall exfiltration of host, user, working-directory, and internal CI repository identifiers is the fingerprint of a dependency-confusion reconnaissance payload: it is designed to be pulled in by an internal build that resolves the higher version from the public registry, and to report back the identity of the victim organization and its private repository names.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

9999.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

80e06e591fd35c119051df59a1ed1771e74146adb37f3aef05367812412af1ad

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for break-after (version 9999.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
break-after 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 break-after 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. break-after on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 9999.0.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-014932

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks break-after-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

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