What does the hardhat-devkit malware do?

Package published as `hardhat-devkit` presents itself as an Ethereum/Hardhat developer toolkit, but the shipped surface is a cover story: README, index.d.ts, and keywords (`fast`, `logger`, `stream`, `json`) are copied from `pinojs/pino`, the manifest description references vulnerability management, and the homepage points at `jsonspack.com` (author `hello@jsonspack.com`). The package's `index.js` unconditionally executes `require('./lib/config')` on load. `lib/config.js` is a single-line ~4,070,107-byte JavaScript file heavily obfuscated with obfuscator.io techniques: hex-escaped identifiers and property names (`_0xNNNN`, `\x63\x68\x61\x72\x43\x6f\x64\x65\x41\x74`), a self-mutating string-a

Which versions of hardhat-devkit are malicious?

The following npm versions of hardhat-devkit are flagged malicious: 2.3.6. Treat any of these as compromised.

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

hardhat-devkit 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.

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

If hardhat-devkit 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.

Is hardhat-devkit part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — hardhat-devkit is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-020257 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-devkit across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for hardhat-devkit (version 2.3.6). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging hardhat-devkit across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

hardhat-devkitnpm

hardhat-devkit is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16349) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 2.3.6). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in hardhat-devkit (npm)

MAL-2026-16349

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall hardhat-devkit

What this malware does

Package published as hardhat-devkit presents itself as an Ethereum/Hardhat developer toolkit, but the shipped surface is a cover story: README, index.d.ts, and keywords (fast, logger, stream, json) are copied from pinojs/pino, the manifest description references vulnerability management, and the homepage points at jsonspack.com (author [email protected]). The package's index.js unconditionally executes require('./lib/config') on load. lib/config.js is a single-line ~4,070,107-byte JavaScript file heavily obfuscated with obfuscator.io techniques: hex-escaped identifiers and property names (_0xNNNN, \x63\x68\x61\x72\x43\x6f\x64\x65\x41\x74), a self-mutating string-array indexer with an embedded RC4+base64 string decoder (J[v]=J[W]; e+=String.fromCharCode(N.charCodeAt(a)^J[(J[v]+J[W])%256])), control-flow flattening via a while(!![]){try{...}catch{}} dispatcher, and a debugger-defense self-check. This concealed payload runs on any require('hardhat-devkit') or import of the package, targeting an audience (Ethereum developers) whose machines are likely to hold wallet keystores, mnemonics, and deployment keys. The combination of brand impersonation, mismatched cover-story metadata copied from an unrelated legitimate project, and a multi-megabyte obfuscated blob reachable at module load time is the supply-chain dropper shape.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

2.3.6

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

ddcb676af47bf26017d1fbc2cf63aae76d09e9248e860f6d0e86d57da92d2b95

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for hardhat-devkit (version 2.3.6). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging hardhat-devkit across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
hardhat-devkit 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 hardhat-devkit 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 hardhat-devkit 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

No. hardhat-devkit on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 2.3.6 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-020257

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks hardhat-devkit-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

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