rafael-bailsnpm
Advisory published Updated
rafael-bails is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-18713) that executes malicious code on install. Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in rafael-bails (npm)
What this malware does
rafael-bails is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library that silently subscribes the installer's own authenticated WhatsApp account to an author-chosen WhatsApp Channel. Part of the campaign OX Security documented as "PhantomSub" (2026-09-28): https://www.ox.security/blog/phantomsub-malicious-npm-campaign-secretly-adds-users-to-whatsapp-spam-channels/ . Static read of the published 1.1.3 tarball on 2026-10-16 (not executed) found a hardcoded channel JID 120363401521242390@newsletter together with the newsletter FOLLOW query wired to run automatically after the socket connects, with errors suppressed. Same family as the withdrawn MAL-2026-4519 (chromestaff-baileys 1.1.3). Live on npm with no OSV record as of 2026-10-16.
Malicious versions
Every published version of this package is considered malicious — remove it entirely.
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for rafael-bails (all published versions).
If you installed it — respond
Remove rafael-bails 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 rafael-bails 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
References
Credits
- OX Security · finder
- Patrick Duggan, DugganUSA · reporter
Detect & block this
O3 blocks rafael-bails-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.