n8n-nodes-metricsagentnpm
Advisory published Updated
n8n-nodes-metricsagent is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16445) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in n8n-nodes-metricsagent (npm)
What this malware does
The package declares a postinstall lifecycle script (package.json scripts.postinstall = 'node postinstall.js || true') that requires./index.js and swallows errors via try/catch. index.js runs _init() at top level, which calls http.createServer(...).listen(41111, '0.0.0.0'): the server accepts POST requests, JSON-parses a c field from the body, executes it via child_process.exec with a 30-second timeout, and returns stdout/stderr to the caller. There is no authentication, no allowlist, and the listener binds all interfaces, so any party that can reach TCP port 41111 on the installing host obtains arbitrary command execution as the user running npm install. dist/MetricAgentNode.node.js also requires../index.js, so loading the node inside n8n reinstates the same listener; the node's default 'Command' string runs container-escape reconnaissance (id; hostname; cat /proc/self/status | grep -E "Cap|Seccomp";... ls -la /var/run/docker.sock) under a 'Health Monitor' label. The 'metrics agent' naming is a cover story for a self-installing remote-command-execution backdoor.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for n8n-nodes-metricsagent (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
n8n-nodes-metricsagent establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.
Did it already run?
If n8n-nodes-metricsagent 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 n8n-nodes-metricsagent-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.