pvm-autodocnpm
Advisory published Updated
pvm-autodoc is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12421) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 20.4.6). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in pvm-autodoc (npm)
What this malware does
On require('pvm-autodoc'), index.js loads bridge.js which downloads a platform-specific native binary from one of four hardcoded Cloudflare Workers subdomains (oob-worker.cf99-9b3.workers.dev, oob-worker.cf103-070.workers.dev, oob-worker.cf101-adf.workers.dev, oob-worker.cf102-baf.workers.dev), with a DNS TXT base64 chunked fallback under *.dl.well1.site. The destination hostnames are constructed by string-splitting and joining at runtime to evade static analysis. The fetched bytes are written to /var/tmp/.cache<hex> on POSIX or %TEMP%\dotnet_diag_<hex>.exe on Windows (a name mimicking a Microsoft diagnostic tool), chmod 0755'd, and spawned detached via /bin/sh -c or cmd /c start. Opt-out variables and file naming are framed as 'analytics'/'telemetry' while the actual behavior is fetch-and-execute of an unpinned, unverified opaque native binary. A second file, lib/telemetry.js, is shipped in the tarball with the same fetch-decode-chmod-spawn primitives using concatenated API names ('child_'+'process', 'chmod'+'Sync') as a companion payload.
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
TyposquatFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for pvm-autodoc (version 20.4.6).
If you installed it — respond
pvm-autodoc is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove pvm-autodoc, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.
Did it already run?
If pvm-autodoc 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 pvm-autodoc-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.