Which versions of cpu-instructions are malicious?

The following npm versions of cpu-instructions are flagged malicious: 0.0.14. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate cpu-instructions if I installed it?

cpu-instructions 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.

I already installed cpu-instructions — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If cpu-instructions 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.

Is cpu-instructions part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — cpu-instructions is associated with the GHSA-hq8x-3j28-4fcx campaign. Packages in the same campaign often share infrastructure and payloads, so check whether any related packages are also in your dependency tree.

How do I find cpu-instructions across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for cpu-instructions (version 0.0.14). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging cpu-instructions across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

cpu-instructionsnpm

Malicious code in cpu-instructions (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

MAL-2025-190838

Immediate action

Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.

npm uninstall cpu-instructions

What this malware does

The package cpu-instructions was found to contain malicious code.

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.

This package was compromised by the Sha1-Hulud: The Second Coming NPM worm. The malicious payload steals tokens and credentials and publishes them to GitHub. The worm will propogate itself to NPM packages the user owns and establish persistence is a GitHub action. The package may also destroy the user's home directory.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

0.0.14

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

99e2bbdca8dd9a2a62e695b54bc5c62b387e43d8e65e138c649077e6c3d8dd7a

ad988ed4a15a4f88901a6bc82cda5a2e09726ec4529de5a5d3478ce794340f1a

38318232e6a8f30b79d2a2479d677bb12192366e842237125a5dbf495eac0462

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for cpu-instructions (version 0.0.14). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging cpu-instructions across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
cpu-instructions 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 cpu-instructions 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 cpu-instructions 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. cpu-instructions on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 0.0.14 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

GHSA-hq8x-3j28-4fcx

References

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

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

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring