Which versions of ref-slot are malicious?

The following npm versions of ref-slot are flagged malicious: 1.0.9. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate ref-slot if I installed it?

ref-slot is built to steal secrets, so assume every credential the build or runtime could read is compromised. Remove it from your project and lockfile, then rotate ALL exposed secrets — npm/registry tokens, cloud keys, CI/CD secrets, SSH keys, and any .env values — from a known-clean machine. Audit logs for unauthorized use of those credentials.

I already installed ref-slot — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If ref-slot 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.

Is ref-slot part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — ref-slot is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-007536, GHSA-fm4g-q7h6-hqjw campaign. Packages in the same campaign often share infrastructure and payloads, so check whether any related packages are also in your dependency tree.

How do I find ref-slot across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for ref-slot (version 1.0.9). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging ref-slot across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

ref-slotnpm

ref-slot is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-6474) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.0.9). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in ref-slot (npm)

MAL-2026-6474

Immediate action

Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.

npm uninstall ref-slot

What this malware does

On npm install, the package's postinstall hook runs node test.js which invokes index.js to perform multi-stage installer compromise. (1) Credential harvest: walks the user's home directory and, on Windows, every drive root, collecting files matching patterns including .env, .env.example, id.json (Solana wallet keypair), config.toml/Config.toml (Cargo/Solana CLI configs), config.json, .pdf, .docx, .xlsx, .txt. Matched files are uploaded via multipart POST to https://datasecure-service.vercel.app/api/v1 along with the OS username. (2) Persistent SSH backdoor: on Linux, fetches an attacker-supplied public key from https://datasecure-service.vercel.app/api/ssh-key and appends it to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys, then uses sudo to chown the.ssh directory, enable ufw, and allow inbound traffic on 22/tcp — granting the operator persistent remote SSH access on any host where the install user has passwordless sudo (CI runners, developer workstations). (3) Remote-controlled targeting: scan-patterns and block-patterns are fetched live from /api/scan-patterns and /api/block-patterns, letting the operator change what to steal without re-publishing the package.

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

1.0.9

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

1e1ef3e785cf6cb007c0b33be2ed43ebe49d64f476bb4fb3a66b914b06def5e1

6940b96ec853838d25ceadf351b289ab3903a1340fed18da4f1697ff8db5d9bf

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for ref-slot (version 1.0.9). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging ref-slot across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
ref-slot is built to steal secrets, so assume every credential the build or runtime could read is compromised. Remove it from your project and lockfile, then rotate ALL exposed secrets — npm/registry tokens, cloud keys, CI/CD secrets, SSH keys, and any .env values — from a known-clean machine. Audit logs for unauthorized use of those credentials.
Did it already run?
If ref-slot 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 ref-slot 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

No. ref-slot on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.0.9 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-007536GHSA-fm4g-q7h6-hqjw

References

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks ref-slot-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

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