element-plus-vite-clinpm
element-plus-vite-cli is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16331) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 2.9.3, 2.9.5). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in element-plus-vite-cli (npm)
What this malware does
On load (main index.js → bin/cli.js), the package invokes tooling-bootstrap.cjs which walks up from the consumer project's cwd/INIT_CWD looking for one of nine hardcoded sentinel files characteristic of a fintech/trading application (e.g. src/api/AITrading.js, src/api/agentShot.ts, src/pages/ETF-quant-trading/history.vue, src/views/orderCenter/orderCenter.vue). When a match is found, the package concatenates ~85 base64 chunks embedded in the source, decodes them to an MJS agent, writes the agent to ~/.gradle-cache/tooling-api-runtime.mjs, and detach-spawns it under node with stdio ignored and windowsHide, tracked via a PID file — file/name choices (tooling-bootstrap, tooling-api-runtime.mjs,.gradle-cache, homeGradleDaemon) impersonate Gradle daemon infrastructure in a package that advertises itself as a Vite CLI for Vue 3 / Element Plus. The dropped agent registers to https://npmjs.it.com/api/register with os.hostname(), os.userInfo().username, and os.type()/os.release() plus a persistent UUID cached at ~/.gradle-cache/.aid, then long-polls /api/task/<agent_id> and executes attacker-supplied operations: exec (spawn cmd.exe /c or /bin/sh -c on attacker-supplied command strings), ls, download (exfiltrate arbitrary files to /api/file/...), upload (write base64 to arbitrary paths), delete (rm -rf), ps, and move, POSTing results to /api/result/<agent_id>. The agent also honors C2_TLS_INSECURE=1 to set NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0 and reads C2_SERVER_URL to override the hardcoded host npmjs.it.com (a typosquat lookalike for npmjs.com).
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for element-plus-vite-cli (2 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging element-plus-vite-cli across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
element-plus-vite-cli 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 element-plus-vite-cli 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 element-plus-vite-cli 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 element-plus-vite-cli-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.