eth-utilnpm
eth-util is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6201) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 7.1.5). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in eth-util (npm)
What this malware does
Package eth-util impersonates the legitimate @ethereumjs/util package: README, repository URL (github.com/ethereumjs/ethereumjs-monorepo), badges, contributor list, and module API are copied from the ethereumjs project, but the package is published under the unrelated short name eth-util. The compiled dist/index.js at line 55 contains a side-effect-only require("assert-kit") that is absent from src/index.ts and from the parallel dist.browser/index.js bundle — tsc would not emit an unreferenced require of a package not present in the source, so this line was injected post-compile. Anyone reading the GitHub source would not see the loader; only the published npm tarball carries it. The assert-kit dependency is declared at ^4.3.2 in package.json, mimic-named after the Node built-in assert referenced in the README, and the caret range lets the publisher ship arbitrary code into installers via any future minor/patch release. On require("eth-util"), the consumer's process executes whatever top-level code assert-kit ships.
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
TyposquatFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for eth-util (version 7.1.5). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging eth-util across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
eth-util is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove eth-util, 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 eth-util 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 eth-util 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 eth-util-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.