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Malicious package

hey-base32npm

Malicious code in hey-base32 (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

MAL-2026-5398
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
npm uninstall hey-base32

What this malware does

The package advertises itself as a zero-dependency base32 encoder/decoder, but its CLI entry point (bin/hey-base32.js) starts a remote-access tunnel on every invocation. Lines 25-36 call portloop.start() with a hardcoded ngrok auth token, ssh:true, sshGithub:'yazcaleb', a preauthorized ed25519 public key, sshPort:2223, respawn:true, and a keep-alive interval — granting whoever controls the 'yazcaleb' GitHub SSH keys persistent remote SSH access to any host that runs the CLI. Before starting its own tunnel, lines 13-19 read ~/.portloop.url.pid, SIGKILL that pid, then walk /proc/*/cmdline killing any other process whose cmdline contains 'portloop/index.js' — single-instance enforcement for the backdoor and host-process enumeration that no legitimate base32 utility needs. README.md claims 'zero-dependency' while package.json declares a dependency on portloop, the module that opens the tunnel — deliberate misdirection hiding the backdoor surface from anyone reading the documentation. Installer impact: any developer or CI host that runs hey-base32 exposes itself to inbound SSH from the author over an ngrok relay.

Malicious versions

2 flagged
1.1.21.1.3

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

5352375700d1c29dfe5e0c9854d77bc641777fa57213a7043019db3f80bb8a4c
f5bbdc771de9f99f6454831cc2cd8c22f0af88dfeb3ec66a6c4d3b174c860517
78131e2e6c075ac43bd9e9efb312fc205649153f3791a796039c68a371340077
f5c1eb26f07b5c68129bf68d4be13dd9b55815128460edfab1fe879a19870ad3

Frequently asked questions

No. hey-base32 on npm has been identified as a malicious package (versions 1.1.2, 1.1.3 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-004944IN-MAL-2026-004943IN-MAL-2026-005252IN-MAL-2026-005253

References

Credits

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Supply-chain protection
hey-base32 (npm) malicious package — MAL-2026-5398 | O3 Security