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Malicious package

cktool-corenpm

cktool-core is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10457) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in cktool-core (npm)

MAL-2026-10457
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
npm uninstall cktool-core

What this malware does

cktool-core is the unscoped public-registry form of the private-scoped @apple/cktool.core package. Installers whose resolver misroutes the scoped name to the public npm registry receive this package instead of Apple's internal library. On install, postinstall.js generates and persists a per-installer UUID under XDG_CACHE_HOME (or ~/.cache) and POSTs it, along with version and timestamp fields, to a hardcoded external endpoint at npx-monitor-76056.azurewebsites.net/api/pingback. The behavior fires unconditionally via the declared postinstall lifecycle hook, so any misresolution results in attacker-controlled JavaScript executing on the installer's machine and an install beacon leaving to a non-vendor destination. The package.json description self-labels this as a dependency-confusion PoC, but the mechanism and installer impact are identical to a real dependency-confusion attack against Apple's private namespace.

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

5 flagged
1.0.01.0.11.0.21.0.31.0.4

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

18ee2228fd4f97fcc261019bf662b6e3006a5aed7a6f3bc0ec4fa505a84aa037
b6cc92287a275e3f237b40571cea09e40aa691c5ef64aa52064c25e6b868c188
ccee78fe976d424bfce31c9f7190b87246e5412f144821dbbc4bedc9a9cdcc49
cdbb75e8b781db493564b5b0bc750b43b94c74909ff0bf5c82271f657e7d2eb2
abbd06f364367903105c29c141c6d50bf268f5917d9345fa22b00994031313a3
c81d930d38ae9b8ba2a283363f006029e1c2cbad28a33d56df9a822c5926f41a

Detection & response playbook

Backdoor / remote access
  1. Find it

    Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for cktool-core (5 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging cktool-core across your stack and pipelines.

  2. If you installed it — respond

    cktool-core 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.

  3. Did it already run?

    If cktool-core 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.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 blocks cktool-core 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

No. cktool-core on npm has been identified as a malicious package (versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.4 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-010277IN-MAL-2026-010278IN-MAL-2026-010276GHSA-qm37-v399-r9m5IN-MAL-2026-013227IN-MAL-2026-013043

References

Credits

  • Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

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

Explore

cktool-core (npm) malicious package — MAL-2026-10457 | O3 Security