Which versions of lite-matte are malicious?

The following npm versions of lite-matte are flagged malicious: 1.0.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate lite-matte if I installed it?

Remove lite-matte from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.

I already installed lite-matte — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If lite-matte 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 lite-matte part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — lite-matte is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-020968 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 lite-matte across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for lite-matte (version 1.0.0).

Malicious package

lite-mattenpm

Advisory published Oct 4, 2026Updated Oct 4, 2026

lite-matte is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17512) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in lite-matte (npm)

MAL-2026-17512

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall lite-matte

What this malware does

package.json declares "postinstall": "wscript.exe 4444.vbs", causing npm install to auto-execute a ~765KB Windows Script Host file shipped in the tarball. 4444.vbs is heavily obfuscated: it reconstructs COM ProgIDs (ADODB.Stream, MSXML2.XMLHTTP) at runtime via a Chr/XOR helper, uses XOR-masked hex tables for AES S-boxes and SHA-256 round constants, and stores its real payload as ~700 Base64-shaped chunks in an ArtifactBundleHX array decrypted through AES-256-CBC followed by ChaCha20-IETF. The decrypted PowerShell loader is written to %TEMP% and handed off to powershell.exe with comments indicating process hollowing. The declared package purpose (a trivial 60-line zod-based email domain checker at src/index.js) is unrelated to the dropper, and the README explicitly states 'No installation scripts. No network requests.' while the manifest ships exactly that. Header cover story labels the script 'Verdant Signals Corp. Device Telemetry Aggregator'.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

1.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

4e7b0ae9e42c334c1c22627e60add7a2c5a0d558a2ab65a3af0043e27bb0e686

Detection & response playbook

Malicious package

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for lite-matte (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
Remove lite-matte from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.
Did it already run?
If lite-matte 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. lite-matte on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.0.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-020968

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks lite-matte-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

Explore

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