Which versions of runhelper are malicious?

The following npm versions of runhelper are flagged malicious: 1.0.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate runhelper if I installed it?

runhelper carries a destructive/sabotage payload. Remove it immediately, restore any affected data from clean backups, and verify integrity of build outputs that may have been tampered with.

I already installed runhelper — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If runhelper 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.

Is runhelper part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — runhelper is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-020819 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 runhelper across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for runhelper (version 1.0.0).

Malicious package

runhelpernpm

Advisory published Sep 30, 2026Updated Sep 30, 2026

runhelper is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17332) that runs destructive / sabotage code (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in runhelper (npm)

MAL-2026-17332

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall runhelper

What this malware does

On require('runhelper'), index.js unconditionally loads a payload file staged by its dependency imgbundle at cdn-img-fetch/.runtime/rt.jpg, allocates executable memory via kernel32 VirtualAlloc with PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE (0x40) and MEM_COMMIT|MEM_RESERVE (0x3000) through the koffi FFI, copies the file bytes with RtlMoveMemory, and executes them with CreateThread. The payload file is deleted after launch, and an fs.watch waits for it if not yet present. The .jpg extension in a hidden .runtime directory disguises an executable payload, and all errors are swallowed with empty catch (_) {} blocks. The advertised exec() spawn wrapper described in the README is a cover story: the module's top-level behavior on load is native shellcode execution. The manifest pins imgbundle@^1.0.0 (payload source) and koffi@^2.8.0 (FFI used to run it); the loader/payload split means anything that transitively requires runhelper on Windows fetches and executes attacker-supplied native code in-process.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

1.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

3b30a78c30f51a72d8501b77d0cf6190319b8876ed7a119cc2f885adc3618212

Detection & response playbook

Destructive / sabotage

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for runhelper (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
runhelper carries a destructive/sabotage payload. Remove it immediately, restore any affected data from clean backups, and verify integrity of build outputs that may have been tampered with.
Did it already run?
If runhelper 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. runhelper on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.0.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-020819

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks runhelper-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.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

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