expect-dotenvnpm
Advisory published Updated
expect-dotenv is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-14316) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 7.2.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in expect-dotenv (npm)
What this malware does
The package's main entry runs a worker that performs an HTTPS GET to https://realase-0626.vercel.app/api/v1 and passes the response's parser string into vm.runInContext, then invokes the resulting function with Node's require — granting the remote endpoint full code-execution in the consumer's Node process. The destination URL is concealed as a hex byte array in constants.js (pluginIDs) and reassembled at runtime via String.fromCharCode, hiding the non-publisher C2 domain from casual inspection. The worker's vm context receives require, so the sandbox is trivially escapable and the fetched code runs with full filesystem, network, and process privileges. This behavior fires on require('expect-dotenv') followed by .config() or .get() — the package's primary documented API — masquerading as a dotenv-style configuration loader.
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
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for expect-dotenv (version 7.2.1).
If you installed it — respond
expect-dotenv establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.
Did it already run?
If expect-dotenv 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks expect-dotenv-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.