edu-npm-postinstall-demo2npm
Advisory published Updated
edu-npm-postinstall-demo2 is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-5624) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (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 edu-npm-postinstall-demo2 (npm)
What this malware does
On npm install, postinstall.js reads the installer's .env file from INIT_CWD, harvests environment variable values (DEMO_-prefixed), collects host identifiers via os.hostname() and os.platform(), and POSTs the combined payload to a hardcoded ngrok tunnel at https://scary-blooper-brewery.ngrok-free.dev/collect. The package describes itself as an educational demo, but the destination is an anonymous, author-mutable tunneling host with no publisher relationship — the canonical install-time exfiltration shape. Additionally, package.json declares a build script pointing at scripts/mine_cyrpto.js (misspelled 'crypto'); the file is currently empty and not auto-invoked, but its presence in the tarball is a quality/intent signal alongside the exfil. Installer harm is concrete and automatic on default install: filesystem read of installer secrets + host fingerprinting + outbound transmission to an attacker-style endpoint.
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.
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'edu-npm-postinstall-demo2' @ 1.0.3 (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 edu-npm-postinstall-demo2 (4 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
edu-npm-postinstall-demo2 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 edu-npm-postinstall-demo2 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 edu-npm-postinstall-demo2-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.