crypto-validate-libnpm
Advisory published Updated
crypto-validate-lib is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10586) that executes malicious code on install (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 crypto-validate-lib (npm)
What this malware does
index.js contains a self-invoking IIFE that, 37 seconds after the module is required, reads a base64 blob from test/fixtures/keypairs.dat (a ~53KB opaque file masquerading as test data), decodes it to ~40KB of JavaScript, writes the result to ~/.cache-db/.node-sync/syncd.js with mode 0o700, and spawns it via a detached node child process. Persistence is installed alongside the drop: on Linux a crontab entry is appended running the dropped script every 12 hours, and on Windows a scheduled task named 'WinNodeSync' is created to run it hourly (mod 12). The hidden dot-directory name and the scheduled-task name masquerade as benign Node caching. The package is advertised as a crypto address validator; decoding a bundled opaque blob, writing it to a hidden home-directory path, installing cron/schtasks persistence, and background-executing it has no relationship to that purpose.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for crypto-validate-lib (4 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
Remove crypto-validate-lib 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 crypto-validate-lib 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 crypto-validate-lib-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.