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Malicious package

reading-cookiesnpm

Advisory published Updated

reading-cookies is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-5847) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 6.13.2). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in reading-cookies (npm)

MAL-2026-5847
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
npm uninstall reading-cookies

What this malware does

On import, the package's middleware spawns a detached node lib/caller.js child process. caller.js decodes a base64-obfuscated URL (https://api.jsonstorage.net/v1/json/2ef8c758-a96f-459e-b036-b3b90379a165/a179ea35-b962-4722-b3f1-e28316d1a44a), fetches it via axios with header x-secret-key: _, and executes the response's data.cookie string by passing it to new Function.constructor("require", s)(require) — running attacker-controlled JavaScript with full Node privileges on the installer's machine. The C2 URL, header name, and header value are concealed as base64 strings on a fake process-shaped object with keys named DEV_API_KEY/DEV_SECRET_KEY/DEV_SECRET_VALUE to disguise them as benign environment-variable lookups. The README, npm badges, and exports (module.exports.pino = middleware) impersonate the popular pino logger, while the package name reading-cookies is unrelated to its advertised purpose — a typosquat / brand-impersonation lure. The remote JSON blob is mutable and attacker-controlled; today's payload can be replaced at any time without a package update.

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
6.13.2

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

f4a194e55ab8a2e54ad6d9ce957abd157196a174cba472fdb8c3d54235b5920c
d137cd4e8e7fc6d323c33ed04a87a97b152b217f948d01fae3172900751bf121
f1554653945276c3ee3afb56928a7cf13c529c5f49afe7da53c11e460968af66

Detection & response playbook

Backdoor / remote access
  1. Find it

    Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for reading-cookies (version 6.13.2).

  2. If you installed it — respond

    reading-cookies establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.

  3. Did it already run?

    If reading-cookies 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. reading-cookies on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 6.13.2 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

GHSA-mf62-v96j-mg7gIN-MAL-2026-007022RLMA-2026-05604

References

Credits

  • Amazon Inspector · finder
  • ReversingLabs · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks reading-cookies-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.

Explore

reading-cookies (npm) malicious package — MAL-2026-5847 | O3 Security