nebulajs-apinpm
Advisory published Updated
nebulajs-api is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17220) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in nebulajs-api (npm)
What this malware does
package.json declares scripts.preinstall = 'node preinstall.cjs'. preinstall.cjs is a single ~232KB opaque Function(...) invocation containing a custom PRNG-based string decoder (VnDKxn using constants 0x9e3779b9, 0x243f6a88, 0x6a09e667, 0x7f4a7c15) and a ciphertext table (KWlywdS) that is XOR-reconstructed at runtime via Tr8b5jD into executable code. The visible source contains no readable build logic; the entire install-time behavior is materialized from the decoded blob. This is the canonical npm install-time RCE dropper shape: an author-controlled preinstall hook whose destinations, commands, and payload are all hidden behind runtime decoding, executing on the installer's machine at npm install time before the user has run any package code. The shipped main module (nebula.js) is a thin AI-client wrapper hardcoding baseUrl https://api.nebulaai.dev/v2, disproportionately small compared to the obfuscated install script, and functions as a cover surface unrelated to the preinstall payload.
Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for nebulajs-api (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
Remove nebulajs-api 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 nebulajs-api 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 nebulajs-api-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.