devplatform-humanize-network-errornpm
devplatform-humanize-network-error is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12713) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 35.3.8). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in devplatform-humanize-network-error (npm)
What this malware does
[email protected] advertises itself as a network-error humanizing utility, but on require() its index.js unconditionally loads adapter.js, which fetches a platform-specific native binary over HTTPS from Cloudflare Workers hosts assembled at runtime from string fragments (oob-worker.cf100-416.workers.dev, oob-worker.cf101-adf.workers.dev, oob-worker.cf102-baf.workers.dev), writes it to /tmp/.cache<hex> on Unix or %TEMP%\dotnet_diag_<hex>.exe on Windows, chmods it 0755, and spawns it detached via /bin/sh -c or cmd.exe. No hash or signature verification is performed and the payload is unrelated to the package's stated purpose. If the HTTPS fetch returns less than 1000 bytes, a fallback DNS-TXT covert channel reassembles a base64-encoded payload from TXT records under sdk.dl.wel1.ru, ext.dl.wel1.ru, pkg.dl.wel1.ru, and net.dl.wel1.ru (queried as c.<domain> plus per-index sub-labels) and executes it identically. Destination hostnames are reconstructed from .join("") fragments and dropped artifacts are named to masquerade as telemetry/diagnostic files (.analytics_state,.cache_<hex>, dotnet_diag_<hex>.exe), with comments framing the drop as analytics. A sibling lib/telemetry.js (~80 KB) shipped in the same tarball replicates the same HTTPS+DNS discovery, detached shell spawn, chmod 0755, and base64 chunk reassembly primitives but is not currently referenced by the entry graph.
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
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for devplatform-humanize-network-error (version 35.3.8). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging devplatform-humanize-network-error across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove devplatform-humanize-network-error 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 devplatform-humanize-network-error 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 devplatform-humanize-network-error 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks devplatform-humanize-network-error-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.