npmkekwnpm
Advisory published Updated
npmkekw is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6363) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious versions 2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.3…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in npmkekw (npm)
What this malware does
The package's main module (index.js) exports an init() function that spawns /bin/bash via child_process.exec and opens a TCP socket to the hardcoded remote address 49.13.148.41:443, piping the shell's stdio through the socket — a textbook reverse-shell backdoor giving the operator at that IP interactive command execution on any host that calls init(). Package metadata is consistent with a throwaway attack vehicle: empty description, empty author, non-descriptive name npmkekw, and no other functional code. The payload as shipped contains a typo (references an undefined sh variable and pipes from cp.stdout) so it crashes on first use, but the intent and structure are unambiguous and a one-character fix would make it functional.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for npmkekw (4 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
npmkekw establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.
Did it already run?
If npmkekw 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 npmkekw-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.