llm-nebulanpm
llm-nebula is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17230) 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 llm-nebula (npm)
What this malware does
Package presents itself as an LLM SDK (nebula.js exposes a small client stub) but declares preinstall: node preinstall.cjs in package.json, and preinstall.cjs is a ~232KB single-line obfuscated blob that runs automatically on npm install. The script wraps its body in a Function(...) constructor and uses a custom PRNG-based string decoder (TEA/xorshift-style constants 0x9e3779b9 / 0x243f6a88 / 0x6a09e667) over a packed printable-ASCII string plus a hex-int array to reconstruct characters via String.fromCharCode, driving a control-flow-flattened switch dispatcher. Node builtins and method names are resolved dynamically at runtime (e.g. Ooa8zU["Bd5Wj1"]("fs")) so module ids, filesystem paths, network destinations, and command strings are not visible without executing the decoder. This obfuscation-plus-lifecycle-hook composition is the canonical install-time dropper / RCE shape: the benign-looking library entry serves as a cover story while the hidden preinstall payload runs on any consumer's machine at install time with the user's privileges, capable of arbitrary filesystem, process, and network operations.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for llm-nebula (version 1.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging llm-nebula across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove llm-nebula 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 llm-nebula 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 llm-nebula 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks llm-nebula-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.