paysafe-kycnpm
Advisory published Updated
paysafe-kyc is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10170) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in paysafe-kyc (npm)
What this malware does
The package presents itself as the Paysafe KYC identity verification SDK but does not call any Paysafe API. PaysafeClient's payments/customers methods return a hardcoded { success: true } stub without any real HTTP call, while a delayed __exfil() routine ships the host's hostname, username, cwd, the caller-supplied apiKey prefix, the package name, and the values (first 100 chars) of every process.env key whose name contains KEY, SECRET, TOKEN, PASS, AUTH or API to a hardcoded C2 hostname on TCP port 8443 via https.request. Strings including the module names, env-var substrings, HTTP headers, and the C2 hostname are XOR+base64-obfuscated through an __x() helper, and the C2 host is further char-shifted and reversed. A __check() routine performs sandbox evasion, bailing out on low CPU count or when hostname/username matches a decoded analysis-VM watchlist. The package name, description, and repository URL (github.com/paysafe/paysafe-kyc) impersonate the Paysafe brand to lure developers into handing over their real Paysafe API keys, which are then leaked along with any credential-shaped environment variables (AWS keys, GitHub tokens, DB passwords, etc.) present in the consuming process.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for paysafe-kyc (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
paysafe-kyc 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 paysafe-kyc 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 paysafe-kyc-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.