mikuhostt-baileysnpm
Advisory published Updated
mikuhostt-baileys is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17447) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in mikuhostt-baileys (npm)
What this malware does
This package is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library (npm) and belongs to the "PhantomSub" family described by OX Security in September 2026: the publisher injected code that, without the installer asking, uses the installer's own authenticated WhatsApp session to subscribe that account to WhatsApp Channels (newsletters) the publisher chose, by sending the WhatsApp w:mex FOLLOW query (query_id 7871414976211147) for each target channel JID.
package/lib/Defaults/index.js lines 78-80 ship the defaults autoFollowNewsletterOnConnect: true, autoFollowNewsletterDelayMs: 90000 and autoFollowNewsletterJid: "120363400911374213@newsletter" (a plain string literal, repeated as the fallback constant at package/lib/Socket/newsletter.js line 11). package/lib/Socket/index.js line 11 calls triggerAutoFollow (newsletter.js line 428) on every socket; 90 seconds after the connection opens, runAutoFollow (line 66) sends a raw w:mex IQ with query_id: QueryIds.FOLLOW (line 96) for that JID, retrying up to three times. The README lists "Auto-follow" only as a feature in a comparison table; it does not say that the library follows the publisher's channel by default.
Line numbers refer to version 1.0.2; the same code is present in every published version listed under affected.
Static review of the published tarball(s) found no code that sends WhatsApp credentials or session keys off-host, no install-time payload (the only install hook is Baileys' stock Node.js version check in engine-requirements.js), and no persistence; the payload runs when an application creates a WhatsApp socket with the library. The harm is the covert use of the victim's account to inflate the publisher's channel subscribers.
SHA-256 of the published npm tarball(s): 1.0.0: ae25a50a962aa412cc1b5dcccff38a2e6afb992f4866134f8aa40c2725dffd8c; 1.0.1: 4a5936d4a37e16ccf40ff141e45f316d65a3758247b68c91c8c7031541c11f3c; 1.0.2: 3e3e234f570aa598f9f77cc55fa874a65e4f966421660506d5d6b02a174a31d2.
Malicious versions
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for mikuhostt-baileys (3 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
mikuhostt-baileys 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 mikuhostt-baileys 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
References
Credits
- Rising Sun Solutions LLC · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks mikuhostt-baileys-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.