tailwind-forms-stylesnpm
Advisory published Updated
tailwind-forms-styles is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16195) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious versions 0.5.1, 0.5.2). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in tailwind-forms-styles (npm)
What this malware does
tailwind-forms-styles ships a src/index.js that is fully obfuscated with obfuscator.io (rotated 303-entry string array, hex-named identifiers, control-flow flattening) and bears no relation to the Tailwind forms plugin advertised in the README and src/index.d.ts. On require() the module opens HTTP(S)/zlib streams to Ethereum RPC endpoints (public.blockscout, *.drpc.org, *.publicnode.com) and an etherscan-like transaction indexer, queries transactions for the hardcoded address 0xa322E5f3D311D3080e9aDC2490Ef6f0121063e1a, imports node:child_process spawn, and injects reconstructed strings into the Node global object (_t_u, _t_s, _H, _H2, _r=require, _m=module, _global=global). This is an EtherHiding-style loader that pulls executable payload data from attacker-controlled on-chain storage and hands it to child_process/global-eval sinks, producing arbitrary code execution on the machine that requires the package (e.g. from tailwind.config.js during a build). The package name and the package.json repository field pointing at tailwindlabs/tailwindcss-forms are impersonation of the real @tailwindcss/forms plugin to induce installation.
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
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for tailwind-forms-styles (2 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
tailwind-forms-styles establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.
Did it already run?
If tailwind-forms-styles 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 tailwind-forms-styles-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.