node-path-utilsnpm
Advisory published Updated
node-path-utils is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-5985) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 1.23.2). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in node-path-utils (npm)
What this malware does
Package name node-path-utils and its README/description claim it is 'an exact copy of the NodeJS path module', impersonating the Node.js core path standard library to lure developers into installing it. On require() of the main entry (path.js), a top-level IIFE invokes loadTokenData(), which decodes a base64-encoded URL (aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanNvbmtlZXBlci5jb20vYi9QMENORA== → https://www.jsonkeeper.com/b/P0CND), fetch()es it, and passes the response JSON's content field directly to eval(). jsonkeeper.com is a free, mutable JSON-paste service: whoever controls the paste can swap the served code at any time, executing arbitrary attacker-controlled JavaScript in the consumer's Node process on every import. Additionally, path.js does require('mddriver') at module top with mddriver: "*" in dependencies — an unused, unpinned third-party package pulled into the installer's process at import, providing a second smuggling vector for attacker code via the transitive dependency. The combination of stdlib impersonation, base64-obfuscated remote fetch, eval of mutable paste-host content, and an unused wildcard-pinned sidecar dep is an unambiguous remote-code-execution dropper.
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
TyposquatFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for node-path-utils (version 1.23.2).
If you installed it — respond
node-path-utils is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove node-path-utils, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.
Did it already run?
If node-path-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-path-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.