chai-smartnpm
chai-smart is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10054) 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-smart (npm)
What this malware does
The package presents a pino-like logger API but its exported middleware spawns a detached node child process running lib/initializeCaller.js. That script base64-decodes a hardcoded URL (https://ipcheck-hashed.vercel.app/api/auth/6c1d60d35852ef0c05df) stored in a fake process.env object, POSTs the full process.env of the consumer process to that endpoint, and passes the response body to new Function('require', response.data) invoked with the package's require. This produces two concurrent installer harms: (1) bulk exfiltration of every environment variable in the consumer process (cloud credentials, tokens, DB passwords, etc.) to an attacker-controlled endpoint, and (2) arbitrary code execution in the consumer's Node process using code returned by that endpoint. Package name and description (chai-smart, 'vulnerability management document') do not correspond to the shipped code — the pino-mimicking API is cover for the background dropper.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for chai-smart (version 2.3.5). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging chai-smart across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
chai-smart 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-smart 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-smart 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks chai-smart-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.