node_cryptographynpm
node_cryptography is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-14276) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in node_cryptography (npm)
What this malware does
The package presents itself as a Node.js cryptography helper and depends on ethers, encouraging callers to pass cryptographic or wallet material to its sole exported async function. That function forwards the caller's argument via axios to an API_BASE_URL assembled at runtime from ~13 fragments produced by an obfuscator.io RC4 string-array decoder. The entire ~30 KB index.js is wrapped in the standard obfuscator.io scheme (RC4+base64 string array, hex-escaped literals, wrapped index accessors, array-rotation IIFE, and a self-defending RegExp function-body anti-tamper check) whose only purpose here is to hide the destination URL. The caller does not configure this destination and is not informed of it; normal use of the advertised API silently leaks the caller's cryptographic inputs to an author-controlled host.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for node_cryptography (version 1.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging node_cryptography across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
node_cryptography 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 node_cryptography 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_cryptography 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_cryptography-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.