npx-test-ma980npm
Advisory published Updated
npx-test-ma980 is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16310) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 1.0.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in npx-test-ma980 (npm)
What this malware does
package.json declares a bin entry whose key contains shell metacharacters and a chained command: "tool & calc.exe": "./run.js". On Windows, npm's bin shim/symlink generation and later invocation via npm install -g or npx can interpret the & in the bin key as a command separator, causing calc.exe to execute as an unintended side effect of installing or linking the package. The shipped run.js is a trivial console.log("hello") and payload.json is empty, so the crafted bin key is the entire attack surface — a proof-of-concept exploit of npm bin-name handling that yields arbitrary command execution on the installer's host.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for npx-test-ma980 (version 1.0.1).
If you installed it — respond
Remove npx-test-ma980 from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.
Did it already run?
If npx-test-ma980 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 npx-test-ma980-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.