elephant-array-utilsnpm
elephant-array-utils is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12369) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 1.0.6). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in elephant-array-utils (npm)
What this malware does
index.js is a heavily obfuscated (obfuscator.io: rotated string array + RC4 decoder, control-flow flattening, hex literals) top-level IIFE with no functionality matching the advertised 'array utils' purpose. On require(), it constructs a hardcoded IPv4 address by concatenating four numeric literals, performs an https.get against that host, splits the response on ':' to obtain an IV and ciphertext, decrypts the payload with createDecipheriv using a Buffer-keyed cipher, writes the plaintext to a file under the current working directory, and executes it via child_process.exec with windowsHide:true. This is a canonical remote-payload dropper: any installer that requires the package hands arbitrary-code-execution to whoever controls the hardcoded IP. The obfuscation layer exists to hide the exfil/dropper URL, decryption key and command from static inspection. The generic package name is consistent with a typosquat lure.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
TyposquatFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for elephant-array-utils (version 1.0.6). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging elephant-array-utils across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
elephant-array-utils is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove elephant-array-utils, 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 elephant-array-utils 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 elephant-array-utils 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 elephant-array-utils-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.