Which versions of mutex-forge are malicious?

The following npm versions of mutex-forge are flagged malicious: 2.0.1, 2.0.2. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate mutex-forge if I installed it?

mutex-forge 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.

I already installed mutex-forge — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If mutex-forge 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.

Is mutex-forge part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — mutex-forge is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-017638, IN-MAL-2026-017636 campaign. Packages in the same campaign often share infrastructure and payloads, so check whether any related packages are also in your dependency tree.

How do I find mutex-forge across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for mutex-forge (2 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging mutex-forge across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

mutex-forgenpm

mutex-forge is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-13955) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 2.0.1, 2.0.2). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in mutex-forge (npm)

MAL-2026-13955

Immediate action

Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.

npm uninstall mutex-forge

What this malware does

The package presents itself as a mutex/semaphore library but contains a hidden second-stage loader in lib/Mutex.js. When runExclusive is invoked with a callback carrying meta.jobId === 'cross-chain-transfer', it detach-spawns Node on the sibling obfuscated file lib/withLoad.min.js. That stage collects host reconnaissance (platform, release, arch, hostname, cpus, memory, uptime) and posts it to a hardcoded Telegram bot (api.telegram.org, chat -1003952553968) and a hardcoded Slack channel (slack.com chat.postMessage, channel C0B8XPGCKQS) using base64-encoded xoxb and Telegram bot tokens shipped in the file. It then connects to Ethereum Sepolia via Alchemy (eth-sepolia.g.alchemy.com) and Infura (sepolia.infura.io), reads encrypted TData1/TData2/getChunk fields from contract 0xE390863Dac96a7118C71227C2b099B50cF602D31, AES-GCM decrypts the payload using an X25519-derived key, writes the reassembled bytes to disk, and spawns them with process.execPath detached. A third stage (lib/tryLoad.min.d.js) polls slack.com/api/conversations.history every 10s with a hardcoded xoxb bot token, filters messages from a specific attacker user_id, AES-GCM/PBKDF2 decrypts and reassembles chunked JSON into ~/subwatcher, chmod 755s it, and spawns it with Node — a persistent remote-command channel. The loader then unlinks lib/withLoad.min.js, lib/withLoad.min.d.js, and lib/tryLoad.min.d.js, rewrites lib/Mutex.js to strip the malicious branch (lines 25..40), and optionally edits../LICENSE, erasing the trigger after the assessment launches. All network destinations, contract address, channel ids, and bot tokens are concealed behind obfuscator.io-style rotated string arrays and base64. Live third-party Slack (xoxb-11307403103236-..., xoxb-11301867762550-...) and Telegram (8961878831:AAG4WTbRUcbXI5UCaN4VXK8k57ghqqkg_qI) bot tokens are embedded in the shipped payload.

Malicious versions

2 flagged

2.0.12.0.2

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

80f0f894a48e67fcc5d8ffb27da45f0f927244406d6c46fa9e0ee3aa5357caca

d3e6d6c8a6e7f9463fa8a07604b4699b1dba8415ee6759e3145b0cab183f4421

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for mutex-forge (2 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging mutex-forge across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
mutex-forge 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 mutex-forge 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 mutex-forge 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

No. mutex-forge on npm has been identified as a malicious package (versions 2.0.1, 2.0.2 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-017638IN-MAL-2026-017636

References

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks mutex-forge-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

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