bubblestringnpm
Advisory published Updated
bubblestring is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10496) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 1.1.4). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in bubblestring (npm)
What this malware does
package.json declares a postinstall hook that runs the package's only code file, index.js, on every npm install. index.js is heavily obfuscated (obfuscator.io-style RC4 string array with 231 entries, two decoders, control-flow flattening). After deobfuscation, the top-level code constructs an IPv4 address by concatenating four numeric octets, performs an HTTPS request to that bare-IP host, writes the response body to a file under the OS temp directory via fs.writeFileSync, and then executes the dropped file via child_process. This is the canonical install-time remote-code-execution dropper shape: mutable attacker-controlled destination, no publisher domain, no integrity check, automatic execution under the installer's user account on npm install. The package metadata reinforces malicious intent — empty description, empty author, no repository or homepage, no exported functionality — and the README instructs users to install and require an unrelated package (@array-util/subsearch), serving as cover for a payload that has no advertised purpose.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for bubblestring (version 1.1.4).
If you installed it — respond
Remove bubblestring from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.
Did it already run?
If bubblestring 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks bubblestring-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the malicious outbound activity and severs the channel.