chain-analyzenpm
chain-analyze is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-11133) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious versions 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in chain-analyze (npm)
What this malware does
The published tarball's dist bundles (dist/sigchain-js.cjs.js, dist/sigchain-js.esm.js, dist/sigchain-js.umd.js) execute at module load: they read an encrypted blob from the sibling dependency 'chain-manager' (either imported as desKey or read from a file under node_modules/chain-manager via fs.readFileSync), DES-decrypt it with a hardcoded PASSWORD, then invoke child_process.spawn('node', [], { detached: true,... }) and pipe the decrypted script into the child's stdin — running attacker-controlled Node.js code on the installer's machine on any require()/import of the package. The dropper code is present only in dist/; the src/ tree contains no reference to 'chain-manager' or to spawn('node'), and package.json's declared main 'dist/chain-analyze.cjs.js' is not shipped — only the tampered dist/sigchain-js.* bundles are, so consumers resolve to the malicious build while source reviewers see a clean Theta blockchain SDK. package.json declares author 'Theta Labs' and describes itself as a JavaScript library for the Theta blockchain, impersonating the official @thetalabs/theta-js SDK, and pins 'chain-manager' ^1.0.9 which supplies the encrypted payload — a split-package design that hides the executable code from scanners inspecting only this tarball.
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
TyposquatFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for chain-analyze (5 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging chain-analyze across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
chain-analyze is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove chain-analyze, 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 chain-analyze 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 chain-analyze 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 chain-analyze-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.