Which versions of ethers-lib are malicious?

The following npm versions of ethers-lib are flagged malicious: 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.4. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate ethers-lib if I installed it?

ethers-lib 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.

I already installed ethers-lib — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If ethers-lib 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.

Is ethers-lib part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — ethers-lib is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-013429, IN-MAL-2026-013398, IN-MAL-2026-013417, IN-MAL-2026-013422, IN-MAL-2026-013410 campaign. Packages in the same campaign often share infrastructure and payloads, so check whether any related packages are also in your dependency tree.

How do I find ethers-lib across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for ethers-lib (5 malicious versions).

Malicious package

ethers-libnpm

Advisory published Aug 5, 2026Updated Aug 5, 2026

ethers-lib is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12111) 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 ethers-lib (npm)

MAL-2026-12111

Immediate action

Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.

npm uninstall ethers-lib

What this malware does

[email protected] impersonates the ethers.js ecosystem (name 'ethers-lib', description 'Essential crypto utility library', wildcard dependency on 'ethers') but exports nothing (module.exports = {}). On require(), index.js runs an IIFE that, after a hardcoded activation date (Aug 6 2026 UTC), reads installer-owned secret files including.env,.npmrc, ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.ssh/id_rsa, ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa, ~/.config/solana/id.json, and ~/.ethereum/keystore, and scans dotfolders for files matching wallet/key/secret/seed/mnemonic/keystore/private. Collected file contents are packaged together with os.hostname() and os.userInfo().username into a JSON body and POSTed over HTTPS to a hardcoded webhook.site endpoint (path /5c5ad6cb-62df-4ea5-9dfb-2c447920ddc4) — a third-party destination the installer did not configure. The date gate delays activation to evade sandbox detonation; the package has no legitimate functionality.

Malicious versions

5 flagged

1.0.01.0.11.0.21.0.31.0.4

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

41ecdce3b18f465381c9bb40e2a39705464021c53bd8e6407259e89245383a0c

4341b184e0a6a60cf305d78f3bb082ad161d36a7de50883afd1cf91e91b56c04

713f2d42401ffc05451af5dcac5bbc3a3332d1546d0f9d8213ade20c07dda6d2

761487986f21fed24f8576a1dbc438ea33cba9918e6342b32673afeb32daad1c

8d43b5cdea21cc0769eb224ebcb43043b626cb970bea1d786c7b9f8fe647e5b5

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for ethers-lib (5 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
ethers-lib 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 ethers-lib 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

No. ethers-lib on npm has been identified as a malicious package (versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.4 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-013429IN-MAL-2026-013398IN-MAL-2026-013417IN-MAL-2026-013422IN-MAL-2026-013410

References

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks ethers-lib-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

All malware advisories How O3 detects malware Vulnerability database