node-fetch-utilsnpm
Advisory published Updated
node-fetch-utils is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6271) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious versions 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in node-fetch-utils (npm)
What this malware does
On Windows, scripts/postinstall.js XOR-decodes a hardcoded C2 host (node22.lunes.host:3258), authenticates with a 5-minute rolling HMAC-SHA256 token, downloads encrypted Python marshal bytecode from /sync and /go, decrypts it with a sha256 keystream, writes a.dat blob and a Python launcher to %TEMP%, and spawns it detached/hidden via wscript.exe //B //nologo against a generated.vbs — with a code comment explicitly noting that this 'escapes npm job object'. The launcher and.vbs self-delete after spawn. The package.json also pulls a transitive dependency 'node-fetch-core' from an unpinned GitHub master-branch tarball owned by the same author, providing a second mutable auto-execution surface that bypasses registry review and can be swapped post-publish. The package name mimics the well-known node-fetch library, consistent with a typosquat lure delivering this payload. Multi-layer obfuscation (XOR-encoded host/port, HMAC time-window authentication, keystream-encrypted payload, marshal'd bytecode), explicit npm job-object evasion, and self-deleting launchers are operational malware tradecraft, not legitimate install scaffolding.
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
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for node-fetch-utils (9 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
node-fetch-utils establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.
Did it already run?
If node-fetch-utils 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 node-fetch-utils-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.