n8n-nodes-metricsagentnpm
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
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for n8n-nodes-metricsagent (version 1.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging n8n-nodes-metricsagent across your stack and pipelines.
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 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 n8n-nodes-metricsagent 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 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.