search-from-searchnpm
Malicious code in search-from-search (npm) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
What this malware does
package.json registers node callback.js as both preinstall and postinstall, so the payload runs automatically on npm install. callback.js collects the full process.env (with an in-source comment explicitly stating no masking), the user/uid/gid/homedir/shell, hostname, platform, cwd, local and external IP (via https://api.ipify.org), and CI environment indicators, then POSTs the JSON payload over plain HTTP to the hardcoded endpoint http://132.243.20.244:8000/api/collect. The outbound request sets User-Agent: dependency-confusion/${PACKAGE_NAME} and the published version 999.99.99 matches the canonical dependency-confusion shape designed to outrank an internal package of the same name. On CI runners this bulk environment harvest typically includes GITHUB_TOKEN, NPM_TOKEN, AWS_* and other build-injected secrets, enabling downstream supply-chain compromise.
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
Credential / info stealerFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for search-from-search (version 999.99.99). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging search-from-search across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
search-from-search 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 search-from-search 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 search-from-search 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 search-from-search-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.