metavunpm
Advisory published Updated
metavu is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6132) that executes malicious code on install (malicious versions 99.21.1-1.21.127, 99.21.1-1.21.199). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in metavu (npm)
What this malware does
package.json declares preinstall: node index.js, which fires automatically on npm install. index.js collects hostname, platform, architecture, home directory, username/uid/gid/shell, OS details, the output of whoami and id, and the current working directory, then POSTs the JSON payload to a hardcoded collector URL https://webhook.site/4f54203c-996c-4f52-b136-ef9b1fd0f64d/detox56 (index.js:7, index.js:108). The package has no functional code — empty author, empty description, and a bizarre version string 99.21.1-1.21.199 consistent with a throwaway dependency-confusion / recon probe. Installing this package leaks installer identity and host fingerprint to an attacker-controlled collector, enabling targeted follow-on attacks against the developer or build environment.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for metavu (2 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
Remove metavu 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 metavu 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 metavu-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.