Which versions of hardhat-set are malicious?

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

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

hardhat-set is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove hardhat-set, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.

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

If hardhat-set 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-set part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — hardhat-set is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-017077 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-set 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-set (version 2.21.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging hardhat-set across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

hardhat-setnpm

hardhat-set is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-13609) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 2.21.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in hardhat-set (npm)

MAL-2026-13609

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall hardhat-set

What this malware does

The package is published as 'hardhat-set' but its README.md, docs/, and index.d.ts are copied verbatim from the unrelated pino logger project (github.com/pinojs/pino), while package.json declares author 'Robert King [email protected]' with bugs URL 'https://jsonspack.com/issues'. index.js executes const config = require('./lib/config') at load time; lib/config.js is a 4,060,622-byte single-line file packed with obfuscator.io (23,931-entry rotated string array, RC4/base64 string decoder, control-flow flattening, self-defending checks) and runs a top-level IIFE on require. No other file in the package references config's exports, and pino itself contains no such module. The combination of a name/README mismatch (pino cover story on a package named after Hardhat), an unrelated author domain, and a multi-megabyte obfuscated blob that self-executes on import is a masquerade/typosquat delivering a hidden payload to anyone who installs or requires the package.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

2.21.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

7cf6b9d0ee4a23bfab6e7a3c21f69a36e0655019cf1dd602f93760e233c7f701

Detection & response playbook

Typosquat

Find it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for hardhat-set (version 2.21.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging hardhat-set across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
hardhat-set is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove hardhat-set, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.
Did it already run?
If hardhat-set 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-set 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-set 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-2026-017077

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks hardhat-set-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

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