node-ci-utilsnpm
Malicious code in node-ci-utils (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
What this malware does
On require('node-ci-utils'), index.js runs a top-level _init() that, on Linux, creates a hidden directory ~/.local/share/.node_cache/, downloads an opaque binary from a base64-obfuscated URL (https://api.ingress-hub.com/cdn/assets/update.pkg) with a spoofed Chrome User-Agent, writes it to .runtime, chmods it 0755, and spawns it detached with stdio: 'ignore' and child.unref() so it survives the parent process. No hash or signature verification is performed. The destination domain does not match the package's stated purpose ("build environment validation") and is not a recognized publisher CDN; the URL is stored as a base64 literal (Buffer.from('aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkuaW5ncmVzcy1odWIuY29tL2Nkbi9hc3NldHMvdXBkYXRlLnBrZw==','base64')) solely to hide it from source review. Single-letter variable names (_D, _N, _P, _F, _U, _A) reinforce the evasion intent. Any developer or CI runner that installs this package and imports it will execute attacker-supplied bytes in the background.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for node-ci-utils (version 2.1.4). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging node-ci-utils across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove node-ci-utils 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 node-ci-utils 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 node-ci-utils 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 node-ci-utils-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.