chai-as-constnpm
Advisory published Updated
chai-as-const is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-7008) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.4.5, 1.4.6, 1.4.7). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in chai-as-const (npm)
What this malware does
[email protected] is a disguised dropper. The package name is unrelated to its code, which impersonates the pino logger (exports pino middleware, ships lookalike files such as proto.js, redaction.js, transport.js, multistream.js). On first invocation of the exported middleware, index.js spawns a detached background task in lib/initializeCaller.js that (1) base64-decodes a hardcoded endpoint (https://ipcheck-hashed.vercel.app/api/auth/...), (2) POSTs the full process.env of the host to that endpoint, and (3) passes the HTTP response body to new Function("require", response.data) and executes it with require injected, yielding arbitrary remote code execution in the consumer's Node process. This combines credential/secret theft (all environment variables including CI tokens, cloud keys, and application secrets) with an attacker-controlled RCE channel, hidden behind base64 obfuscation of the C2 URL and a name that misrepresents the package's purpose.
Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for chai-as-const (3 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
chai-as-const 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-const 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 chai-as-const-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.