date-fns-litenpm
Advisory published Updated
date-fns-lite is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6722) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (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 date-fns-lite (npm)
What this malware does
[email protected] presents as a lightweight date-formatting utility but ships a malicious postinstall.js that runs automatically on npm install. The script harvests installer-side secrets — AWS credentials (~/.aws), GCP application-default credentials, Azure tokens, kubeconfig, SSH private keys and authorized_keys, /etc/shadow, and shell history — using /proc/1/root traversal to reach the host filesystem from inside a container. It also queries the AWS IMDS endpoint (http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/) and GCP metadata service for instance IAM credentials, probes the Docker socket via /proc/1/root/var/run/docker.sock to enumerate containers, and performs internal-network reconnaissance (default-gateway detection, /24 ping sweep, port probes on 22/80/443/3306/6379/9200/27017). The aggregated report is POSTed to a hardcoded bare-IP endpoint at http://115.190.124.243:9082/callback over plain HTTP. The package name mimics the widely-used date-fns library, and index.js contains a small plausible-looking date formatter as cover for the postinstall payload. Installing this package on any host — especially in CI or a container with host mounts — will disclose cloud credentials, SSH keys, and an internal-network map to the attacker.
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'date-fns-lite' @ 1.0.11 (npm) as malicious.
It is considered malicious because:
- The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for date-fns-lite (13 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
date-fns-lite 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 date-fns-lite 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
- OpenSSF: Package Analysis · finder
- ReversingLabs · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks date-fns-lite-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.