cloudsmith-vscnpm
Advisory published Updated
cloudsmith-vsc is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-4530) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 2.1.2). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in cloudsmith-vsc (npm)
What this malware does
package.json declares a preinstall hook ("preinstall": "node index.js") that runs automatically on npm install. index.js reads installer-side system identity and files — os.hostname(), os.userInfo(), homedir, DNS configuration, package metadata, /etc/passwd, and /etc/hosts — and POSTs them over HTTPS to a hardcoded Burp Collaborator subdomain (6hoa7n94q5v6yig1hqokwg6f066zupie.oastify.com). The package metadata is empty (no description, author, or license) and the name impersonates the Cloudsmith vendor brand, consistent with a dependency-confusion / typosquat recon-and-exfil payload. Any machine that installs this package transmits host fingerprinting and local account data to the attacker.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
TyposquatFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for cloudsmith-vsc (version 2.1.2).
If you installed it — respond
cloudsmith-vsc is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove cloudsmith-vsc, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.
Did it already run?
If cloudsmith-vsc 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks cloudsmith-vsc-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.