What does the chai-as-synced malware do?

chai-as-synced@7.0.9 impersonates the pino logger: it ships pino's README, LICENSE, docs/, index.d.ts and lib/ file layout (proto.js, levels.js, redaction.js, transport.js, worker.js, tools.js, multistream.js) with pino's keywords (`fast`,`logger`,`stream`,`json`), while package.json declares an unrelated name and author (Robert King , bugs URL https://jsonspack.com/issues) and a boilerplate description unrelated to logging. index.js unconditionally executes `require('./lib/config')` at module top level. lib/config.js is not pino's config module; it is a ~4MB single-line obfuscator.io bundle (rotated string array of ~23,868 entries, hex-escaped identifiers, control-flow

Which versions of chai-as-synced are malicious?

The following npm versions of chai-as-synced are flagged malicious: 6.0.3, 7.0.9. Treat any of these as compromised.

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

chai-as-synced is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove chai-as-synced, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.

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

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

Yes — chai-as-synced is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-007582, IN-MAL-2026-018633, GHSA-3m37-26mh-fj77 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-synced across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for chai-as-synced (2 malicious versions).

Malicious package

chai-as-syncednpm

Advisory published Jun 26, 2026Updated Sep 8, 2026

chai-as-synced is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6497) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious versions 6.0.3, 7.0.9). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in chai-as-synced (npm)

MAL-2026-6497

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall chai-as-synced

What this malware does

[email protected] impersonates the pino logger: it ships pino's README, LICENSE, docs/, index.d.ts and lib/ file layout (proto.js, levels.js, redaction.js, transport.js, worker.js, tools.js, multistream.js) with pino's keywords (fast,logger,stream,json), while package.json declares an unrelated name and author (Robert King [email protected], bugs URL https://jsonspack.com/issues) and a boilerplate description unrelated to logging. index.js unconditionally executes require('./lib/config') at module top level. lib/config.js is not pino's config module; it is a ~4MB single-line obfuscator.io bundle (rotated string array of ~23,868 entries, hex-escaped identifiers, control-flow flattening, nested decoder functions) that auto-runs the moment any consumer imports the package. The package also declares axios ^1.10.0 as a runtime dependency although the visible wrapper (a no-op express middleware) has no HTTP use, positioning the hidden payload to perform network I/O at import. The combination of deceptive identity, hidden obfuscated payload, import-time auto-execution, and a bundled HTTP client is a covert-code-execution shape inconsistent with any legitimate logging library.

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

2 flagged

6.0.37.0.9

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

7bc0ee3e6a8341e046b84880f9faf0a4750f4a261a791b95d1267066d7828071

be17d22b28dc53ea46085190c1f5ff11ae16ce4b80539162d68c2ad2b224158e

40194d8b76beed1c302e92600d56ab077089dc5db4790851e20326587ebc7f3d

Detection & response playbook

Typosquat

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for chai-as-synced (2 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
chai-as-synced is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove chai-as-synced, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.
Did it already run?
If chai-as-synced 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-synced on npm has been identified as a malicious package (versions 6.0.3, 7.0.9 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-007582IN-MAL-2026-018633GHSA-3m37-26mh-fj77

References

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks chai-as-synced-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the malicious outbound activity and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

All malware advisories How O3 detects malware Vulnerability database