chain-managernpm
chain-manager is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-11181) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.0.8, 1.0.9, 1.0.10). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in chain-manager (npm)
What this malware does
The package is advertised as a docs/landing site for 'Theta Data API', but its main entry (index.js) re-exports a single value desKey sourced from apps/docs/app/theta.js, which reads apps/docs/app/des.db via readFileSync. The contents of des.db begin with U2FsdGVkX1..., the standard prefix for OpenSSL-encrypted base64 output, indicating an opaque ciphertext payload. The package has no lifecycle scripts, no network I/O, no shell execution, and no reads of installer-side credential paths in its reachable code. Installing or importing this package on its own performs no exfiltration and executes no fetched code. The shape — a nearly empty npm package whose only export is an encrypted blob — is inert in isolation but is consistent with a staged-payload carrier intended to be decrypted and executed by a separate companion loader that holds the corresponding key. The mismatch between the README's stated docs-site purpose and the actual single-export-of-ciphertext content is a transparency concern.
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
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for chain-manager (3 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging chain-manager across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
chain-manager 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 chain-manager 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-manager 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-manager-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.