Which versions of chai-as-auth are malicious?

The following npm versions of chai-as-auth are flagged malicious: 2.3.5. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate chai-as-auth if I installed it?

chai-as-auth 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 chai-as-auth — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If chai-as-auth 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 chai-as-auth part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — chai-as-auth is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-010357 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 chai-as-auth across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for chai-as-auth (version 2.3.5).

Malicious package

chai-as-authnpm

Advisory published Jul 14, 2026Updated Jul 14, 2026

chai-as-auth is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10518) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 2.3.5). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in chai-as-auth (npm)

MAL-2026-10518

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall chai-as-auth

What this malware does

lib/initializeCaller.js contains a self-executing IIFE that POSTs the entire process.env object to a hardcoded remote endpoint and then executes the HTTP response body via new Function("require", response.data)(require). The destination URL is base64-encoded and stashed on a fake local process.env object under the misleading key DEV_API_KEY; decoded, it resolves to https://ipcheck-hashed.vercel.app/api/auth/6c1d60d35852ef0c05df. The package name mimics legitimate authentication libraries while the shipped code is a repackaged pino tree combined with the stealer module. On require, environment variables (which routinely include AWS/GCP tokens, CI secrets, npm tokens, and database credentials) are shipped off-host and the remote server is handed arbitrary Node.js code execution with full require access for follow-on payloads.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

2.3.5

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

12dffbf180eff9ea18e21c9fc8c514912e95e40b3439fc43c3e3124b7ed189a3

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for chai-as-auth (version 2.3.5).
If you installed it — respond
chai-as-auth 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 chai-as-auth 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. chai-as-auth on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 2.3.5 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-010357

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks chai-as-auth-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

Explore

All malware advisories How O3 detects malware Vulnerability database