nordpassnpm
Advisory published Updated
nordpass is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10743) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious versions 1.0.0, 1.0.2, 1.0.4). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in nordpass (npm)
What this malware does
Package name impersonates the NordPass password-manager product while presenting itself as 'A simple authentication module.' The package.json postinstall runs make -C src && cp src/auth_module./bin/flare && node src/install.js. src/install.js is a ~100 KB heavily obfuscated file (obfuscator.io-style string-array decoder with rotation, unicode-escaped identifiers, XOR-numeric literals) that reads /etc/passwd, derives XOR key material from that content combined with hardcoded byte constants, base64-decodes an embedded payload, XOR-decrypts it, and passes the resulting string to eval(). The decode-and-exec path is guarded by anti-analysis checks: a NODE_OPTIONS --inspect check, a Date.now() timing gate, and an OG_-prefixed environment-variable kill switch. A compiled auth_module binary is also staged to ./bin/flare during postinstall. The combination — brand impersonation, obfuscation, host-file read used as key material, base64+XOR+eval of an embedded blob, anti-debug and kill-switch guards, and a staged native binary — executes attacker-controlled code on the installer's machine at npm install time.
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'nordpass' @ 1.0.2 (npm) as malicious.
It is considered malicious because:
- The package communicates with a domain associated with malicious activity.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
TyposquatFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for nordpass (3 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
nordpass is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove nordpass, 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 nordpass 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
- OpenSSF: Package Analysis · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks nordpass-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.