Which versions of helper-agent are malicious?

The following npm versions of helper-agent are flagged malicious: 1.0.1, 1.0.4. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate helper-agent if I installed it?

helper-agent 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.

I already installed helper-agent — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If helper-agent 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 helper-agent part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — helper-agent is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-022767, IN-MAL-2026-022766 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 helper-agent across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for helper-agent (2 malicious versions).

Malicious package

helper-agentnpm

Advisory published Nov 13, 2026Updated Nov 13, 2026

helper-agent is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-19224) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious versions 1.0.1, 1.0.4). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in helper-agent (npm)

MAL-2026-19224

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall helper-agent

What this malware does

The package declares a postinstall script node probe.cjs that fires on every npm install. On execution it POSTs install-start and status markers to a hardcoded webhook.site dead-drop (https://webhook.site/a4bf0f9f-6d96-46e6-80ac-b76a5329f481), then scans several localhost ports (1337, 80, 3000, 8080, 5000) for a specific JSON API and, when a matching record (id ECT-987654) is found, issues a PUT that overwrites that service's manifest with an author-chosen status string. Both the outbound beacon destination and the local mutation target are hardcoded and not user-configurable. The package.json self-describes as an "Authorized HTB dependency-resolution canary" and the mutation path is gated to a narrow challenge record, but the install-time outbound beacon and localhost scanning fire unconditionally for any installer, confirming installer execution to a third-party collector and granting the author write access to a matching local service on the installer's host.

Malicious versions

2 flagged

1.0.11.0.4

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

4ab651b6042b8ef6c2c986a58d276931d9353d723fd914c9b7c728cac5cf0fc9

f01dff7c435620ecbed6343306f78e4402baebad429485c0946687951bd98ea3

Detection & response playbook

Backdoor / remote access

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for helper-agent (2 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
helper-agent 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 helper-agent 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. helper-agent on npm has been identified as a malicious package (versions 1.0.1, 1.0.4 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-022767IN-MAL-2026-022766

References

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks helper-agent-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

All malware advisories How O3 detects malware Vulnerability database