core-js-gnsnpm
core-js-gns is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-14175) 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 core-js-gns (npm)
What this malware does
The package's postinstall hook (package.json → node init.js) runs an installer-side dropper. init.js gates on developer-machine heuristics (presence of Desktop/Documents/Downloads directories) and a 24-hour skip marker, then POSTs hostname, username, platform, architecture, Node version, OS release, and package name/version to https://core-js-buffer.domaup-com.workers.dev/report. It then HTTP GETs an AES-256-GCM ciphertext from the same host with TLS verification disabled (rejectUnauthorized: false), decrypts it with a key derived from a hardcoded seed, checks the plaintext contains the cover-story string TelemetrySender, writes the result to ~/.cache/core-js-buffer/modules/runtime.py, and spawns Python detached (stdio:'ignore', .unref()) to execute it. The package name mimics the legitimate core-js library. Behavior is arbitrary remote code execution on the installer's machine, fetched from an attacker-controlled endpoint at npm install time, preceded by installer identifier exfiltration to the same endpoint.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for core-js-gns (version 1.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging core-js-gns across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
core-js-gns 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.
Did it already run?
If core-js-gns 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 core-js-gns 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 core-js-gns-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.