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)
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
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for puppeteer-obscura (version 1.0.0).
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.
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
Campaign
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.