notifier-utilsnpm
Advisory published Updated
notifier-utils is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6923) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious versions 1.3.7, 1.3.8, 1.3.9…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in notifier-utils (npm)
What this malware does
The package presents itself as a pino-compatible logger (README, keywords, and a module.exports.pino alias mirror the pino identity, and lib/ replicates pino's file layout including proto.js, levels.js, transport.js, worker.js). Its actual behavior is remote code execution: index.js's exported middleware spawns node lib/caller.js with detached: true, stdio: 'ignore', and child.unref(), hiding the child from the calling application. lib/caller.js issues an HTTPS GET to an IPFS gateway URL (emerald-accurate-urial-9.mypinata.cloud/ipfs/bafkreih3kofw4s22pcrwpi35nk57xy3r345nhsfxeuishcvljrsim3c3hq), reads the .data.model field, and executes the returned JavaScript via new Function.constructor('require', src) with require passed in — giving the fetched code full Node privileges (filesystem, network, child_process, arbitrary module loading). The IPFS-hosted payload is attacker-mutable, so the executed code can change at any time without a package update. The pino impersonation exists to induce developers to wire the exported middleware into their applications, at which point every request path that reaches the middleware triggers the remote-fetch-and-eval.
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 notifier-utils (4 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
notifier-utils is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove notifier-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 notifier-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 notifier-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.