newtunnpm
Advisory published Updated
newtun is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-13733) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in newtun (npm)
What this malware does
The newtun CLI opens a plaintext WebSocket to the hardcoded server pull.7ii.win:7999 and hands the remote peer complete control of the installer's host. On TERM_OPEN messages the client calls pty.spawn(shell,...) and pipes server-supplied bytes (base64-decoded) directly into term.write(), giving the remote server an interactive PTY shell as the process user. SCRIPT_LIST/POLICY_SCRIPTS messages pass server-controlled string content to child_process.exec() and return stdout/stderr/exit code back over the same socket. FILE_REQUEST messages dispatch fs.readdirSync / readFileSync / writeFileSync / unlinkSync / rmSync / renameSync / mkdirSync against server-supplied paths, with file contents shipped back base64-encoded (up to 10MB per read) — allowing the operator to exfiltrate ~/.ssh, ~/.aws, and other installer secrets and to plant or delete files anywhere the process user can write. Every 5 seconds the client also sends MONITOR frames carrying hostname, OS type/release, arch, Node version, CPU/memory/load, uptime, and /proc/net/dev RX/TX rates; the initial authenticate frame carries os.hostname(), os.type/release/arch, and process.version. An UPGRADE control message causes the client to run npm update -g newtun and relaunch, letting the remote server swap the globally installed binary for any future published version without user interaction. The transport is unauthenticated plain ws:// so any on-path party can also drive these primitives.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for newtun (22 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
newtun 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 newtun 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 newtun-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.