Which versions of channel-worker are malicious?

The following npm versions of channel-worker are flagged malicious: 2.5.39. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate channel-worker if I installed it?

channel-worker establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.

I already installed channel-worker — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If channel-worker 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 channel-worker part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — channel-worker is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-010784 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 channel-worker across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for channel-worker (version 2.5.39).

Malicious package

channel-workernpm

Advisory published Jul 16, 2026Updated Jul 16, 2026

channel-worker is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10729) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 2.5.39). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in channel-worker (npm)

MAL-2026-10729

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall channel-worker

What this malware does

The package's runtime code implements a remote command-and-control agent rather than a normal library. bin/cli.js hardcodes the endpoint https://api.channel.tunasm.art and issues POST calls with host identifiers to that endpoint via fetch. lib/command-poller.js pairs child_process execution with GET/POST loops against a remote controller, taking command IDs from responses and executing OS commands (including ping) locally. lib/cache-server.js and lib/nst-manager.js reinforce the same shape: child_process combined with outbound POST and ping invocations to remote hosts. This is a poll-execute-report agent structure — installing or running this package registers the host with the operator of api.channel.tunasm.art and executes commands returned by that server, providing persistent remote access to the machine.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

2.5.39

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

cb42c8663e71b69abd887afe5b53f3c9d57bb405dd9e8ec4954eb1bf9bb0c033

Detection & response playbook

Backdoor / remote access

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for channel-worker (version 2.5.39).
If you installed it — respond
channel-worker establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.
Did it already run?
If channel-worker 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. channel-worker on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 2.5.39 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-010784

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks channel-worker-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

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