Which versions of hardhat-bits are malicious?

The following npm versions of hardhat-bits are flagged malicious: 2.21.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate hardhat-bits if I installed it?

Remove hardhat-bits from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.

I already installed hardhat-bits — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If hardhat-bits 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.

Is hardhat-bits part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — hardhat-bits is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-021121 campaign. Packages in the same campaign often share infrastructure and payloads, so check whether any related packages are also in your dependency tree.

How do I find hardhat-bits across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for hardhat-bits (version 2.21.0).

Malicious package

hardhat-bitsnpm

Advisory published Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026

hardhat-bits is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17658) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 2.21.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in hardhat-bits (npm)

MAL-2026-17658

Immediate action

Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.

npm uninstall hardhat-bits

What this malware does

The package is published as hardhat-bits but its README, LICENSE, docs/, and lib/* files are copied verbatim from the pino logger project, providing cover for an inserted file at lib/config.js. index.js performs const config = require('./lib/config') at the top level, so the file executes unconditionally when the module is required. lib/config.js is a single-line, ~4.47 MB obfuscator.io output: a 26,130-entry shuffled string array with a rotating decoder, hex-escaped member access, RC4-style key-schedule string decoding, control-flow flattening, and a self-defending IIFE. The exported middleware in index.js is a no-op (_req, _res, next) => next(), so the obfuscated module serves no documented purpose in the public API. The combination of name/branding mismatch (hardhat tooling name, pino content), a stub public API, and a multi-megabyte obfuscated blob auto-executed on import matches the trojan-loader shape used by npm supply-chain malware; any installer that requires hardhat-bits runs attacker-controlled code hidden behind the obfuscation.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

2.21.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

4e10f22980d33eea7649312f6b2b0a94637e5b4da400f7d585c58b6902a77944

Detection & response playbook

Malicious package

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for hardhat-bits (version 2.21.0).
If you installed it — respond
Remove hardhat-bits from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.
Did it already run?
If hardhat-bits 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

No. hardhat-bits on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 2.21.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-021121

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks hardhat-bits-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the malicious outbound activity and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

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