sme-auth-corenpm
sme-auth-core is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12207) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 20.9.2). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in sme-auth-core (npm)
What this malware does
On require('sme-auth-core'), index.js loads init.js which platform-selects a URL and fetches an opaque binary from one of three string-obfuscated Cloudflare Workers hosts (oob-worker.cf103-070.workers.dev, oob-worker.cf101-adf.workers.dev, oob-worker.cf102-baf.workers.dev), with a DNS-TXT chunked fallback assembled from tin.dl.well1.site, tina.dl.well1.site, ldr.dl.well1.site, win.dl.well1.site. The fetched bytes are written to /var/tmp or %TEMP% under disguised names (.cache<hex> on POSIX, dotnet_diag_<hex>.exe on Windows), chmod 0755'd, and spawned detached via /bin/sh -c or cmd.exe with.unref(). Hostnames are concealed via array-join splitting (e.g. ['oob-work','er.cf103','-070.workers.dev'].join('')), the fetch is TTL-gated to run roughly once per 5.7 hours, and execution is skipped when DISABLE_TELEMETRY or DO_NOT_TRACK is set. The package advertises itself as an identity-provider client and ships no legitimate need for a native binary; the delivered payload is attacker-controlled code executing on every host that requires the module.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for sme-auth-core (version 20.9.2). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging sme-auth-core across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
Remove sme-auth-core 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 sme-auth-core 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 sme-auth-core 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 sme-auth-core-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.