Which versions of optimize-regex are malicious?

The following npm versions of optimize-regex are flagged malicious: 1.2.1. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate optimize-regex if I installed it?

Remove optimize-regex 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.

I already installed optimize-regex — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If optimize-regex was ever installed, its post-install/runtime payload may have already executed. O3's L7 egress monitoring and runtime eBPF sensors detect the credential exfiltration or command-and-control callback after install and block the malicious outbound channel, so you catch and contain the actual compromise — not just the presence of the package.

Is optimize-regex part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — optimize-regex is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-009591 campaign. Packages in the same campaign often share infrastructure and payloads, so check whether any related packages are also in your dependency tree.

How do I find optimize-regex across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for optimize-regex (version 1.2.1). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging optimize-regex across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

optimize-regexnpm

Malicious code in optimize-regex (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

MAL-2026-10103

Immediate action

Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.

npm uninstall optimize-regex

What this malware does

package.json declares optimize-regex as a dependency (and devDependency) of itself, resolved via a plain-HTTP tarball URL at http://pack.nppacks.com/npm/optimize-regex — a host unrelated to the package's publisher and outside the npm registry. On npm install, npm fetches and installs whatever bytes that URL currently serves as the same package name, giving the operator of pack.nppacks.com full control over the code that ends up in the installer's node_modules. The URL is unpinned (no hash, no version), served over cleartext HTTP (mutable in transit as well as at the host), and the visible index.js is a near-verbatim clone of babel-plugin-transform-define with a package name and description that do not match that functionality — a decoy while the actual payload is delivered through URL-scheme dependency resolution.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

1.2.1

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

9b77c2c0dab050d3a675407d74b649c73bfc107da05191cf041fb66e0346073a

Detection & response playbook

Malicious package

Find it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for optimize-regex (version 1.2.1). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging optimize-regex across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove optimize-regex 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 optimize-regex was ever installed, its post-install/runtime payload may have already executed. O3's L7 egress monitoring and runtime eBPF sensors detect the credential exfiltration or command-and-control callback after install and block the malicious outbound channel, so you catch and contain the actual compromise — not just the presence of the package.
How O3 protects you
O3 blocks optimize-regex before install through its supply-chain scanner, and if it has already run, detects and severs the exfiltration or C2 callback at runtime through L7 egress monitoring and eBPF.

Frequently asked questions

No. optimize-regex on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.2.1 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-009591

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks optimize-regex-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.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring