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Malicious package

chai-as-initnpm

Advisory published Updated

chai-as-init is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-2891) 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-init (npm)

MAL-2026-2891
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
npm uninstall chai-as-init

What this malware does

chai-as-init is a malicious npm package that when imported downloads a C2 dropper from https://api.npoint[.]io/c2e881b8bc0fe2121454 and executes it (similar to malware in to chai-await-test).

Package name impersonates chai-as-promised and ships a README copied from pino as cover. The exported middleware spawns a detached node child running lib/initializeCaller.js, which decodes a base64-encoded URL (https://ipcheck-hashed.vercel.app/api/auth/b4dadd6a26d820d08596) and POSTs the full process.env ({...process.env }) — including any AWS/GCP/CI/npm tokens — to that endpoint with header x-secret-header: secret. The HTTP response body is then passed to new Function('require', response.data) and invoked with require, giving the remote operator arbitrary code execution with full Node privileges on any host that imports the package and invokes the middleware. Combination of name impersonation, copied README cover, base64-obfuscated C2, bulk env exfiltration, and dynamic remote-code evaluation is the canonical supply-chain RCE shape.

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

3 flagged
1.4.51.4.61.4.7

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

086ea02015eee2ed739d268574f9f70069e52293a0c16b02b83f76d95c22afae
57086955990a082c75fa9bec1a1b3f57a71eafa6eaef825a9c4d716aac044dca
4d792d1a35e17dd44d19301afb81ceb82ba68a11913d51ba9462b052e4cb8014
86a5e85d8d41d2f731104422d3a8e4a73d02354250782e45389d28acc2332854
c0ce99e61fda9a489c749cea51adcf66648c56d26ee18a7aa4f0100db30615f9

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer
  1. Find it

    Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for chai-as-init (3 malicious versions).

  2. If you installed it — respond

    chai-as-init 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.

  3. Did it already run?

    If chai-as-init 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-init on npm has been identified as a malicious package (versions 1.4.5, 1.4.6, 1.4.7 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-005481IN-MAL-2026-005848IN-MAL-2026-005849GHSA-7cq2-px9f-cq3g

References

Credits

  • Amazon Inspector · finder
  • indece · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks chai-as-init-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.

Explore

chai-as-init (npm) malicious package — MAL-2026-2891 | O3 Security