data-pipeline-testmetestnpm
Advisory published Updated
data-pipeline-testmetest is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-18177) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 2.0.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in data-pipeline-testmetest (npm)
What this malware does
data-pipeline-testmetest 2.0.1 is a self-spreading credential stealer that runs on npm install without an install script: its binding.gyp source <!(env node index.js >/dev/null 2>&1; echo stub.c) makes node-gyp run index.js, an obfuscated loader that decrypts a 939 KB payload and pipes it into Bun (downloaded from GitHub if missing). The payload steals GitHub, npm, PyPI, RubyGems and cloud credentials, commits them to a public repository it creates in the victim's GitHub account (description project-utils), and republishes the victim's packages with the same hook. Published by npm account testnewtestme2 on 2026-10-21.
If it finds a GitHub token it installs a net-health-checker user service that runs rm -rf ~/ once the token is revoked. Remove ~/.local/bin/net-health-checker.sh and its systemd unit or LaunchAgent before revoking the token, then rotate all reachable credentials.
The package ships a binding.gyp whose target type is none with no C/C++ sources, and whose sources field uses GYP command expansion <!(env node index.js...; echo stub.c) to invoke the package's own index.js during the implicit node-gyp rebuild that npm runs whenever a binding.gyp is present. This provides install-time code execution without declaring a lifecycle script. index.js is not readable source for the advertised 'test pipeline utilities' purpose: its top-level body is eval(ROT13(charCodeArray)), where the decoded code constructs an AES-128-GCM decipher with hardcoded hex key/IV/authTag and executes the resulting ~1.8MB plaintext. The package also declares bun ^1.2.18 as a runtime dependency, pulling in the Bun runtime installer alongside the obfuscated loader. The combination of a binding.gyp whose only purpose is to run an embedded obfuscated loader, a multi-layer ROT13+AES-GCM-wrapped eval payload with no legible source, and an unrelated alternate-runtime dependency is a loader/dropper structure, not a utility library.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for data-pipeline-testmetest (version 2.0.1).
If you installed it — respond
data-pipeline-testmetest 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 data-pipeline-testmetest 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
- Robin Frehner, Protet · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks data-pipeline-testmetest-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.