tailwindcss-animnpm
tailwindcss-anim is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-11487) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious versions 0.0.1, 1.0.0, 1.1.0…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in tailwindcss-anim (npm)
What this malware does
index.js hides a base64-encoded payload after a long run of tab characters and executes it via eval(atob(...)) at module load, so any require()/import of the package triggers the dropper. The decoded payload queries Ethereum JSON-RPC endpoints (eth.blockscout.com/api, eth.drpc.org, ethereum-rpc.publicnode.com, eth-mainnet.public.blastapi.io) for the latest transaction from the hardcoded address 0xa322E5f3D311D3080e6f0121063e9aDC2490Ef1a, extracts two IPv4 addresses from the transaction's to field bytes, HTTP-fetches an XOR-obfuscated stage-2 from those IPs, and runs it via eval and spawn("node", ["-e", payload], {detached:true, stdio:"ignore", windowsHide:true}).unref(). Sensitive identifiers (http, https, child_process, spawn, x-payload-b64) are written as \u-escaped sequences to evade text search. The blockchain-derived indirection lets the operator rotate stage-2 hosts by broadcasting a new transaction from the watched address, giving a resilient, mutable control channel for arbitrary code execution on the installer host. The package is presented as a Tailwind CSS animation plugin, which is unrelated to any of this behavior.
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
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for tailwindcss-anim (8 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging tailwindcss-anim across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
tailwindcss-anim 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 tailwindcss-anim 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 tailwindcss-anim 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 tailwindcss-anim-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.