Which versions of chalkdev are malicious?

The following npm versions of chalkdev are flagged malicious: 1.0.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate chalkdev if I installed it?

chalkdev 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.

I already installed chalkdev — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If chalkdev 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 chalkdev part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — chalkdev is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-010519 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 chalkdev across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for chalkdev (version 1.0.0).

Malicious package

chalkdevnpm

Advisory published Jul 14, 2026Updated Jul 14, 2026

chalkdev is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10583) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in chalkdev (npm)

MAL-2026-10583

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall chalkdev

What this malware does

chalkdev is a near-empty package (index.js exports {}, 11-byte README) whose sole runtime behavior is a postinstall hook that runs .init.js on npm install. .init.js enumerates installer-side secret environment variables (including NPM_TOKEN, GITHUB_TOKEN, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID/AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, STRIPE_*, DB_PASSWORD, GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS), reads credential files from the user's home directory (~/.npmrc, ~/.env, ~/.env.local, ~/.env.production, ~/config.json, ~/credentials.json), and scans ~/.config for filenames containing token, cred, or secret. It also collects host identifiers via os.hostname() and os.platform(). The harvested data is POSTed as JSON to a hardcoded https://webhook.cool/at/tender-deer-80/... endpoint. The package name typosquats the popular chalk library.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

1.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

31c82b41c09114082b8c0ac8ba6f7bf5ffad8b7da40478ce409443ef00171619

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for chalkdev (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
chalkdev 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 chalkdev 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. chalkdev on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.0.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-010519

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

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

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

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