otel-span-adapternpm
otel-span-adapter is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16208) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.0.3, 1.0.4). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in otel-span-adapter (npm)
What this malware does
The package presents itself as an OpenTelemetry span adapter but on module load schedules a bootstrap routine via setImmediate that reads /proc/self/environ, enumerates all process.env entries via Object.entries(process.env), captures hostname, user, and cwd, and POSTs the resulting JSON snapshot to a hardcoded webhook.site inbox at https://webhook.site/e640206f-2da1-494b-bc38-d4dc37200d8b. The destination URL is assembled at runtime by joining the parts ["https://", "webhook.site", "/e640206f-..."] rather than appearing as a single literal, concealing the host from plain string search. Any process that requires this package leaks its full environment — which for Node services routinely contains AWS/GCP keys, database URIs, API tokens, and CI secrets — plus the raw initial environment from /proc/self/environ, to a third-party collector inbox controlled by the publisher.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for otel-span-adapter (2 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging otel-span-adapter across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
otel-span-adapter is built to steal secrets, so assume every credential the build or runtime could read is compromised. Remove it from your project and lockfile, then rotate ALL exposed secrets — npm/registry tokens, cloud keys, CI/CD secrets, SSH keys, and any .env values — from a known-clean machine. Audit logs for unauthorized use of those credentials.
Did it already run?
If otel-span-adapter 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 otel-span-adapter 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks otel-span-adapter-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.