Which versions of chai-as-byte are malicious?

The following npm versions of chai-as-byte are flagged malicious: 3.1.5, 3.1.6. Treat any of these as compromised.

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

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

If chai-as-byte 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.

Is chai-as-byte part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — chai-as-byte is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-010594, IN-MAL-2026-010595 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-byte across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for chai-as-byte (2 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging chai-as-byte across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

chai-as-bytenpm

chai-as-byte is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10630) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 3.1.5, 3.1.6). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in chai-as-byte (npm)

MAL-2026-10630

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall chai-as-byte

What this malware does

On require of the package's main entry, index.js detaches a child process that runs lib/initializeCaller.js. That script posts the caller's entire process.env to a base64-obfuscated URL (decoded destination: https://ipcheck-hashed.vercel.app/api/auth/6c1d60d35852ef0c05df) using axios, then passes the response body to new Function('require', response.data) and invokes it with the module require — giving the remote endpoint arbitrary code execution on the installer's host with full module access. The package name mimics the chai-as-* family while its metadata advertises a JSON logger, and neither role is implemented in the shipped code; the main entry silently spawns the exfil/RCE task instead of exposing any library API. The bulk-environment upload captures CI secrets, cloud tokens, and API keys that live in process.env in typical build environments.

Malicious versions

2 flagged

3.1.53.1.6

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

a6820ba756fd8d2eb81435c478feb269e34f2aea859e42b42861d0a28f914a1f

a822ae725d0887baa11e83624e59f504c11659322a343230ac0cb66c8d5f5c4b

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for chai-as-byte (2 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging chai-as-byte across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
chai-as-byte 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-byte 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 chai-as-byte 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

No. chai-as-byte on npm has been identified as a malicious package (versions 3.1.5, 3.1.6 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-010594IN-MAL-2026-010595

References

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks chai-as-byte-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

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