chalkdevxnpm
Malicious code in chalkdevx (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
What this malware does
package.json declares a postinstall hook that runs.init.js on npm install. The script enumerates ~65 credential and CI environment variables (NPM_TOKEN, GITHUB_TOKEN, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, STRIPE_, DOCKER_, cloud provider tokens, private keys), reads home-directory credential files including ~/.npmrc, ~/.env*, config.json, and credentials.json, and scans ~/.config for files matching token/cred/secret patterns. Collected data — together with host identifiers (os.hostname(), os.platform(), cwd, pid) — is POSTed as JSON to a hardcoded https://webhook.cool/at/tender-deer-80/... endpoint, a public webhook-inspection service unrelated to any declared package purpose. The package's declared functionality is trivial (empty description, minimal index.js); the credential-harvesting postinstall is the package's actual behavior. The name resembles the popular chalk package.
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 chalkdevx (version 2.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging chalkdevx across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
chalkdevx 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 chalkdevx 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 chalkdevx 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 chalkdevx-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.