npm-rce-pocnpm
Advisory published Updated
npm-rce-poc is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-7019) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 1.0.13). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in npm-rce-poc (npm)
What this malware does
Package declares a postinstall lifecycle script that, on npm install, fetches a script over plain HTTP from a hardcoded bare IP (http://115.190.124.243:8761/slt on Unix,.../swt on Windows) and immediately executes it — piping to sh on Unix and writing to C:\Users\Public\run.bat via certutil then invoking it on Windows. The package presents itself as date-fns-lite, a lookalike of the popular date-fns library, and ships a benign-looking date-formatting index.js as cover; the actual behavior is an install-time dropper that hands remote code execution to the operator of 115.190.124.243 against every installer. No pinning, no integrity check, no TLS.
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 npm-rce-poc (version 1.0.13).
If you installed it — respond
npm-rce-poc is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove npm-rce-poc, 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 npm-rce-poc 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 npm-rce-poc-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.