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Malicious package

checkmate-remediation-assistantnpm

Advisory published Updated

checkmate-remediation-assistant is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17572) 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 checkmate-remediation-assistant (npm)

MAL-2026-17572
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
npm uninstall checkmate-remediation-assistant

What this malware does

[email protected] contains no functional code: its only behaviour is a preinstall script that runs node index.js on npm install. index.js collects the install directory, the user's home directory, hostname, username and DNS servers, and the full contents of /etc/passwd and /etc/hosts, then sends them as JSON in an HTTPS POST to 9q0lp9mr6ek7nrnklhzkmbpuglmda4yt.oastify.com, a Burp Collaborator endpoint. The npm account testneo7755 published it on 2026-10-05 and it was unpublished about two minutes later; the same account published with-cte the same day with the same index.js and a different Collaborator subdomain.

The package's package.json declares a preinstall hook that runs index.js on npm install. index.js collects os.hostname(), os.userInfo(), the home directory, DNS server configuration, __dirname, the local package.json, and the contents of /etc/passwd and /etc/hosts, then transmits the collected data over HTTPS to a hardcoded Burp Collaborator (oastify.com) subdomain (9q0lp9mr6ek7nrnklhzkmbpuglmda4yt.oastify.com). The destination is an out-of-band interaction server not associated with any declared publisher or documented package purpose, and the exfiltration fires automatically on default install without user interaction.

Malicious versions

1 flagged
1.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

c8f55d0ebeea19e228ec6edbb1782df87539c476478d3935559fda90a458b1b4

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer
  1. Find it

    Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for checkmate-remediation-assistant (version 1.0.0).

  2. If you installed it — respond

    checkmate-remediation-assistant 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.

  3. Did it already run?

    If checkmate-remediation-assistant 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. checkmate-remediation-assistant 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-2026-021081

References

Credits

  • Amazon Inspector · finder
  • InvisiRisk, Inc. · finder

Detect & block this

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

Explore

checkmate-remediation-assistant (npm) malicious package — MAL-2026-17572 | O3 Security