dotenv-preflightnpm
Advisory published Updated
dotenv-preflight is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17324) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in dotenv-preflight (npm)
What this malware does
The npm package [email protected] presents itself as a dotenv-related preflight utility but ships a single index.js whose contents are heavily obfuscated (hex-prefixed identifiers such as _0x351140, _0x3256d4, _0x3de8a6, _0x2a9875, _0x4d88e3 on line 1, consistent with javascript-obfuscator string-array output). Legitimate dotenv/env-preflight tooling is a few dozen lines of readable JavaScript; wrapping the entire module in a string-array obfuscator has no benign purpose for a package in this category and is the standard concealment technique used to hide credential-harvesting and network exfiltration behavior from casual review. The package name closely resembles the popular dotenv ecosystem, increasing the chance of accidental installation, and the obfuscated body would execute on require() by any consumer that adds this dependency. Semantic tracing of the obfuscated code triggered the provider's malware-output safety filter, which is characteristic of operational credential-theft or exfiltration payloads rather than routine business logic.
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'dotenv-preflight' @ 1.0.0 (npm) as malicious.
It is considered malicious because:
- The package communicates with a domain associated with malicious activity.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for dotenv-preflight (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
dotenv-preflight 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 dotenv-preflight 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
Detect & block this
O3 blocks dotenv-preflight-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.