fmt-util-k7x2npm
fmt-util-k7x2 is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-13950) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 1.0.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in fmt-util-k7x2 (npm)
What this malware does
[email protected] advertises itself as a trivial string-formatting utility (index.js exports two-line pad/trim helpers), but its package.json declares a postinstall hook that runs setup.js on every npm install. setup.js probes a list of Twilio-internal hostnames (including code.hq.twilio.com, stage.twilio.com, twilio.jfrog.io, artifacts.twilio.com) and the AWS EC2 instance metadata endpoint at 169.254.169.254, then concatenates the per-target reachability results and sends them as a query string to a hardcoded external host at http://whstool.brkd.no/cb53e6db-e043-4383-89e9-853c9088ee5d?v=<results>. The per-install UUID callback identifies each victim uniquely, and the target set (internal corporate hostnames + cloud metadata service) matches the dependency-confusion reconnaissance pattern. The exfil destination is not owned by Twilio and is unrelated to the package's advertised purpose. The random-suffix name and mismatch between advertised functionality and postinstall behavior are consistent with a targeted dependency-confusion package aimed at Twilio build environments.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for fmt-util-k7x2 (version 1.0.1). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging fmt-util-k7x2 across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
fmt-util-k7x2 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 fmt-util-k7x2 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 fmt-util-k7x2 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 fmt-util-k7x2-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.