c2-clientnpm
c2-client is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17165) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in c2-client (npm)
What this malware does
The package name is 'c2-client' and package.json declares a postinstall hook that executes 'node setup.js' automatically on npm install. The setup script runs unattended in the installer's environment with the installer's privileges and network access. Combined with the package's self-declared C2-client purpose, install of this package is expected to establish an attacker-controlled command channel or execute attacker-controlled code on the installer's machine at install time.
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 c2-client (version 1.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging c2-client across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
c2-client 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 c2-client 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 c2-client 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 c2-client-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.