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Malicious package

puppeteer-obscuranpm

Advisory published Updated

puppeteer-obscura is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16001) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in puppeteer-obscura (npm)

MAL-2026-16001
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
npm uninstall puppeteer-obscura

What this malware does

On npm install, the package's postinstall hook (node dist/install.js) downloads a platform-specific binary from https://github.com/h4ckf0r0day/obscura/releases/latest/download/<asset>, writes it to disk, marks it executable (chmod), and the package later spawns it via child_process.spawn. Two structural issues make this an install-time remote code execution surface: (1) the URL uses GitHub's mutable releases/latest pointer with no version pin and no hash or signature verification, so the bytes delivered to every installer can change at any moment without a corresponding npm release; (2) the GitHub owner h4ckf0r0day (defined in dist/constants.js as GITHUB_REPO = "h4ckf0r0day/obscura") does not match the npm publisher identity yoannchb/yoannchb-pro declared in package.json and LICENSE. Whoever controls the h4ckf0r0day GitHub account — which is not the npm publisher — can ship arbitrary native code to every installer of this package. The advertised purpose (a Chromium-like browser binary for Puppeteer) provides cover for an opaque executable that runs on the installer's machine.

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

1 flagged
1.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

a3c4d559ca37c933d3740932a055c986015603ed942aee9b747d0bde9e60a8dd
5617ac5e060d08fcfe23669c497e6b4fbb8587fd7f7630a7b9f6e86287880983

Detection & response playbook

Malicious package
  1. Find it

    Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for puppeteer-obscura (version 1.0.0).

  2. If you installed it — respond

    Remove puppeteer-obscura 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.

  3. Did it already run?

    If puppeteer-obscura 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

No. puppeteer-obscura on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.0.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

GHSA-cxwq-q9c5-424vIN-MAL-2026-019712

References

Credits

  • Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks puppeteer-obscura-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.

Explore

puppeteer-obscura (npm) malicious package — MAL-2026-16001 | O3 Security