n8n-nodes-moonlet-helpersnpm
Advisory published Updated
n8n-nodes-moonlet-helpers is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17176) that executes malicious code on install (malicious versions 1.0.0, 1.0.4). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in n8n-nodes-moonlet-helpers (npm)
What this malware does
Package presents itself as n8n helper nodes but ships an empty stub index.js (module.exports = {}) and no functional node modules. On npm install, postinstall.js runs automatically: it performs an HTTPS GET to https://mkicom.com/.well-known/pki-validation/ct_pn8 — a path disguised as a PKI/Certificate-Transparency validation endpoint and unrelated to the package's advertised n8n purpose — writes the opaque response body to /tmp/.np, chmods it 0755, and executes it via spawn('/bin/sh', ['-c', 'setsid /tmp/.np... &'], {detached: true}) so the process survives npm exit. There is no hash, signature, or version pinning on the downloaded bytes. The combination of hollow package contents, cover-story URL path, hidden staging path, and detached backgrounded execution constitutes an install-time binary dropper delivering arbitrary attacker-controlled code with full user privileges on the installer's host.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for n8n-nodes-moonlet-helpers (2 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
Remove n8n-nodes-moonlet-helpers from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.
Did it already run?
If n8n-nodes-moonlet-helpers 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-moonlet-helpers-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.