pfa-errorsnpm
pfa-errors is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12406) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 20.4.9). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in pfa-errors (npm)
What this malware does
On require('pfa-errors'), index.js unconditionally loads runtime.js, which fetches a platform-specific opaque binary from one of three hardcoded Cloudflare workers.dev endpoints (oob-worker.cf100-416.workers.dev and siblings), writes it to a temp path with a decoy name (.cache<hex> or dotnet_diag_<hex>.exe), sets mode 0755, and spawns it detached via /bin/sh -c or cmd.exe. When HTTPS is unavailable, a DNS-TXT covert channel to *.dl.well1.site reconstructs the binary from base64 chunks. Destination hostnames and sensitive API names such as child_process and chmodSync are fragmented into arrays and reassembled with.join('') at runtime to evade static string search. A second, functionally identical dropper shipped in lib/telemetry.js is not reached from index.js but embeds the same fetch+chmod+spawn primitives.
Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for pfa-errors (version 20.4.9). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging pfa-errors across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove pfa-errors 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 pfa-errors 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 pfa-errors 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 pfa-errors-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.