sw-pluginernpm
sw-pluginer is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-14211) that executes malicious code on install (malicious versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in sw-pluginer (npm)
What this malware does
sw-pluginer presents itself as a Tailwind plugin for service worker registration, but its main export — invoked when Tailwind processes its config via require('sw-pluginer') — reads a URL from a staged file at node_modules/.bin/manifest.json, performs an HTTP GET to that URL, and passes the response body directly to eval() in the Node build process. The staging file is written by a separate dropper component and is unlinked after being read, hiding the payload destination from static inspection of the sw-pluginer tarball itself. The fetched code is not pinned, hashed, or signature-verified, and it is executed in the developer's Node environment (not in a browser as service worker code) — so whoever controls the staged manifest.json obtains arbitrary code execution on the developer machine at build time. The self-deleting indirection through node_modules/.bin/manifest.json plus eval of unverified network-fetched JavaScript is a covert dropper mechanism, not service worker registration.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for sw-pluginer (5 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
Remove sw-pluginer 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 sw-pluginer 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
Campaign
References
Credits
- Amazon Inspector · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks sw-pluginer-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.