gekko-trading-botnpm
Advisory published Updated
gekko-trading-bot is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12388) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 4.2.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in gekko-trading-bot (npm)
What this malware does
The package's postinstall hook runs setup.js, which unconditionally downloads core.exe from the hardcoded Cloudflare Workers subdomain c2-proxy.metamasksvc.workers.dev and writes it to ~/.gekko/gekko.exe on Windows installers. The host is name-spoofed to resemble MetaMask, is not affiliated with MetaMask, and is explicitly labeled c2-proxy in a variable name in the code. There is no version pinning, no hash or signature verification, and the fetched binary is unrelated to the package's stated trading-bot purpose. The package metadata impersonates the well-known open-source Gekko crypto trading bot while pointing to an unrelated repository at github.com/0xWelsh/gekko, so users searching for the legitimate project receive the trojanized clone. Installing this package on Windows results in an opaque attacker-controlled binary being staged in the user's home directory at install time.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for gekko-trading-bot (version 4.2.0).
If you installed it — respond
gekko-trading-bot 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 gekko-trading-bot 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 gekko-trading-bot-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.