ecto-rust-read-f3a9c1npm
ecto-rust-read-f3a9c1 is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-5689) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in ecto-rust-read-f3a9c1 (npm)
What this malware does
On install, postinstall.js evaluates a targeting heuristic (isRealTarget) that fires only when the build environment looks like a real corporate CI/Docker host — cwd not under /tmp, hostname not matching researcher patterns ('hetzner','nijin','ec2.internal'), and either the npm registry points at a private mirror (nexus.local/verdaccio) or the hostname is a 12-hex container ID with /app/ cwd. When the heuristic matches, the script writes /usr/local/bin/.spectral-shell (mode 0755) containing a /bin/sh reverse shell to snnkj-159-153-180-200.run.pinggy-free.link:38493 via /dev/tcp, then installs a root cron entry at /etc/cron.d/spectral-shell ('* * * * * root /usr/local/bin/.spectral-shell') with a fallback to the user crontab, starts cron, and immediately spawns the shell detached. It also PUTs JSON containing uid, hostname, and cwd to http://154.57.164.71:31289/api/modules/ECT-472839 to confirm compromise to the operator. The combination — interactive reverse shell, root cron persistence every minute, sandbox-evasion targeting of enterprise build hosts, and a hardcoded bare-IP HTTP beacon — is a textbook supply-chain backdoor delivered via npm lifecycle.
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
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for ecto-rust-read-f3a9c1 (3 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging ecto-rust-read-f3a9c1 across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
ecto-rust-read-f3a9c1 establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.
Did it already run?
If ecto-rust-read-f3a9c1 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 ecto-rust-read-f3a9c1 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 ecto-rust-read-f3a9c1-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.