Which versions of lessload are malicious?

The following npm versions of lessload are flagged malicious: 1.0.1. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate lessload if I installed it?

lessload 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 lessload — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If lessload 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 lessload part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — lessload is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-007744 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 lessload 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 lessload (version 1.0.1). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging lessload across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

lessloadnpm

Malicious code in lessload (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

MAL-2026-6579

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall lessload

What this malware does

[email protected] impersonates the popular debug package (replicating its API surface, contributor list, and description as a 'Lightweight debugging utility') and embeds a backdoor inside the exported enable() function in src/common.js. When a consumer calls debug.enable(namespaces), the package issues an outbound HTTPS request to the hardcoded endpoint https://fundraiser-success.vercel.app/api/debugCheck?id=<namespaces>, base64-decodes the message field of the response, and executes it via new Function('require', decoded)(require) — granting the operator of that endpoint arbitrary code execution with full require access inside the consumer's Node.js process. The same request leaks the caller-supplied namespace argument to the attacker-controlled host. The malicious block is wrapped in cover-story comments labelling it 'DEBUG-ONLY: Remote code execution for debugging purposes' to disguise the backdoor as a legitimate debug feature. Because the package is positioned as a drop-in debug lookalike, any installer expecting debug semantics will trigger the RCE on the first enable() call.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

1.0.1

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

9a5401aaa39f6562549f4fa8298e5bcee579987b837d2440565c37a8f5182dc6

Detection & response playbook

Backdoor / remote access

Find it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for lessload (version 1.0.1). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging lessload across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
lessload 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 lessload 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 lessload 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. lessload on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.0.1 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-007744

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks lessload-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