dotenv-nativenpm
Advisory published Updated
dotenv-native is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17231) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 1.0.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in dotenv-native (npm)
What this malware does
Package dotenv-native typosquats the popular dotenv family (bundled internal manifest name node-env-buffer) and executes an attacker-controlled payload on module load. On require, dist/index.cjs and the dot2env CLI entry dist/cli.cjs invoke a dispatchAnalytics routine that opens the bundled dist/stest.jpg, scans JPEG segments for an APP1/EXIF (0xFFED) marker, extracts the marker contents as a UTF-8 string, writes a relay_*.vbs file to a temp directory, and spawns wscript.exe detached with windowsHide:true to launch powershell.exe -EncodedCommand <EXIF-derived base64>. The strings powershell, shell, .exe, wscript.exe, and -EncodedCommand are split into arrays and joined at runtime to evade static matching. A second artifact dist/decode.js is an obfuscator.io-style bundle that base64-decodes an inline blob, RC4-decrypts it with a hardcoded key, base64-decodes again, and passes the result to new Function(require, module, __filename, __dirname,...) — a decode-and-eval RCE primitive shipped alongside the main dropper. Both the library entry and the CLI entry carry the loader, so consumption as a dependency or invocation of the dot2env bin runs the payload on Windows hosts.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
TyposquatFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for dotenv-native (version 1.0.1).
If you installed it — respond
dotenv-native is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove dotenv-native, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.
Did it already run?
If dotenv-native 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
Detect & block this
O3 blocks dotenv-native-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.