express-pluginnpm
Advisory published Updated
express-plugin is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6523) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.6.6). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in express-plugin (npm)
What this malware does
On module load, index.js auto-invokes initPlugin(), which HTTP-GETs https://jsonkeeper.com/b/PRA3O, parses the JSON response, and passes the response's cookie field to Function.constructor with require exposed, then immediately invokes the resulting function. Any process that does require('express-plugin') executes arbitrary JavaScript pulled from a mutable third-party paste host with full Node require privileges, giving the operator of that paste full control of the installer's machine. The file is headed as normalize-path (ES6 safe version) and exports an unused normalizePath function as decoy; the package name express-plugin is cover framing intended to make the package look like a benign Express middleware. The remote payload is attacker-mutable: today's content can be swapped for credential theft, persistence, or any other action at any time without republishing the package.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for express-plugin (version 1.6.6).
If you installed it — respond
express-plugin 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 express-plugin 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 express-plugin-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.