minimalistic-assert-plusnpm
minimalistic-assert-plus is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-13954) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 1.1.7). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in minimalistic-assert-plus (npm)
What this malware does
The package typosquats minimalistic-assert and re-ships the Chai library alongside a malicious dispatcher. On require('minimalistic-assert-plus'), index.js spawns a detached Node child (spawn('node', [assertion,...], {detached:true, stdio:'ignore'})) that runs lib/chai/utils/expectAssertion.js. That file is heavily obfuscated (obfuscator.io string-array + base64 rotation, hex-named identifiers such as _0x4b784f, _0x51bd34) and at runtime constructs an HTTP URL, performs an http.get, and passes the response body to new Function(..., body)(require) — evaluating attacker-supplied JavaScript with the real Node require in scope. Stdio is ignored and the process is detached to evade observation. Package metadata is deceptive: name mimics minimalistic-assert, description is copied from Chai, and homepage points to minimalistic-assert-plus.com.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
TyposquatFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for minimalistic-assert-plus (version 1.1.7). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging minimalistic-assert-plus across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
minimalistic-assert-plus is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove minimalistic-assert-plus, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.
Did it already run?
If minimalistic-assert-plus 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 minimalistic-assert-plus 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 minimalistic-assert-plus-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.