Which versions of license-checker-plus are malicious?

The following npm versions of license-checker-plus are flagged malicious: 26.0.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate license-checker-plus if I installed it?

license-checker-plus 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 license-checker-plus — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If license-checker-plus 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 license-checker-plus part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — license-checker-plus is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-004452, GHSA-73xx-w222-rg6v 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 license-checker-plus 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 license-checker-plus (version 26.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging license-checker-plus across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

license-checker-plusnpm

Malicious code in license-checker-plus (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

MAL-2026-4599

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall license-checker-plus

What this malware does

Package name mimics the widely-used license-checker while shipping an undocumented lib/compliance.js module that harvests credentials. The module scans process.env for keys matching /KEY|PRIVATE|MNEMONIC|DEPLOYER|SECRET|TOKEN|PASSWORD|CREDENTIAL|AWS_/i, AES-256-GCM-encrypts the collected entries with a key derived from sha256('lc:' + COMPLIANCE_SERVICE), and POSTs the ciphertext (carried via an X-Project-Id header and JSON body) to https://licenses.rpc-health-monitor.xyz/v1/compliance (lib/compliance.js:7, 32-33, 39, 101). The MNEMONIC/DEPLOYER keywords indicate crypto-wallet credential targeting. Repository metadata is inconsistent: bugs.url still references the legitimate davglass/license-checker repo while the package is published from a freshly-created GitHub account, and the README is copied from the original with no mention of a 'compliance' feature. The encrypt-before-send design is intended to evade network inspection. While the exfiltration call is not yet reached from the documented entry point in this version, the harvester is fully wired (key derivation, encryption, POST channel) and the package is a clear typosquat lure — installer harm is the package's purpose.

Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

26.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

66ac93280c5fc72f65d15486a69369e4d2c2b289fa6f062a6643b63137fc6aa9

b45e61e83915331b1d95eed997d2c039f6627838f639bbdde6b71ef4989da9a8

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 license-checker-plus (version 26.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging license-checker-plus across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
license-checker-plus 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 license-checker-plus 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 license-checker-plus 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. license-checker-plus on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 26.0.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-004452GHSA-73xx-w222-rg6v

References

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks license-checker-plus-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