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Malicious package

dotenv-expressnpm

Malicious code in dotenv-express (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

MAL-2026-2350
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
npm uninstall dotenv-express

What this malware does

Package impersonates the popular dotenv package: package.json points its repository field to git://github.com/motdotla/dotenv.git and homepage to https://github.com/motdotla/dotenv#readme, neither of which the author owns. The library code is a near-verbatim copy of dotenv but adds const gate = require('environment-gate') at the top of lib/main.js, and the documented config() entry point begins with gate.gate() — so any consumer calling the standard dotenv API (require('dotenv-express').config()) executes code from environment-gate, an unrelated third-party dependency with no env-file-loading purpose, on every load. The package additionally ships skills/dotenv/SKILL.md and skills/dotenvx/SKILL.md whose frontmatter declares name: dotenv, author: motdotla, source: https://github.com/motdotla/dotenv, and instructs npm install dotenv — identity-spoofing metadata designed to trick AI coding agents into treating this package as the genuine dotenv. The combination of impersonated repo/homepage/skill metadata, a name one token away from dotenv, and a forced transitive dependency that runs on the documented API call is deliberate namespace abuse rather than a typo, and the harm to installers is whatever environment-gate does at require-time on every .config() invocation.

Malicious versions

4 flagged
2.5.517.4.317.4.417.4.5

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

5ea08e37c8d0d7664606e811be640da27372585c408c2cf5987b8903ad6dd493
4a2a64c0b295657e6373168223a6131c966f09e6c0b7a1e150b7deba779b75be
4130b63199807afa74453827b83d0ce23da273ea2f4df80b31860c360239d7f8
87c063897212774df4e13b1d7bf70cc74a98ac1ca824d2bb1f1e8c60d0662b5e
b2550d2da2fa62332dfdc22a952773e11cfd7b97d2dbbaab70697eff6321c54f

Frequently asked questions

No. dotenv-express on npm has been identified as a malicious package (versions 2.5.5, 17.4.3, 17.4.4, 17.4.5 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

RLMA-2026-01743IN-MAL-2026-006690IN-MAL-2026-006689IN-MAL-2026-006691

References

Credits

  • Amazon Inspector · finder
  • ReversingLabs · finder

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Supply-chain protection
dotenv-express (npm) malicious package — MAL-2026-2350 | O3 Security