node-request-utilsnpm
Advisory published Updated
node-request-utils is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-15632) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in node-request-utils (npm)
What this malware does
On npm install, package.json's postinstall runs index.js, which on Windows hosts downloads a JavaScript payload from https://limbomail.com/api/attachment/l4TIRPOsaUxR._603-vhKDRdgKl3RalN_TVUZYGPsJy2Y/all.js (TLS verification disabled), writes it as winsvc.js under APPDATA, and executes it via wscript/node. The dropper installs multiple Windows persistence mechanisms — HKCU Run key, UserInitMprLogonScript, a scheduled task at \Microsoft\Windows\Shell\WinSvcHost, and a Startup folder.lnk pointing at a hidden VBS launcher — and re-checks the remote URL for updated payloads roughly every two hours. The install path uses -EncodedCommand PowerShell (UTF-16LE base64) with hidden-window flags and an AMSI bypass via amsiInitFailed reflection, and aborts on CI environments, low-CPU/low-memory hosts, and hostnames/usernames matching sandbox keywords (sandbox|virus|malware|sample|analysis|cuckoo|anyrun|hybrid) to evade analysis. index.js additionally sets Hidden/System file attributes on its dropped artifacts.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for node-request-utils (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
Remove node-request-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-request-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-request-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.