ethers-libnpm
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)
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
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 ethers-lib (5 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging ethers-lib across your stack and pipelines.
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 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 ethers-lib 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 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.