tanksyncnpm
Advisory published Updated
tanksync is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-17209) 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 tanksync (npm)
What this malware does
The package's advertised API downloads a JavaScript file over HTTPS and executes it via spawn('node', [payloadPath], {detached: true}).unref(), leaving the worker running after client.close(). The default fetch target is hardcoded to https://api.helloworld.com/api/realtime-data?key=abc, which is a placeholder-shaped host that does not match the publisher's declared domain (spawnrealm.com). The purported integrity check computes HMAC-SHA256 using a symmetric key ('tanksync-secret-key') baked into the shipped source, so any party who reads the package can produce a valid signature for arbitrary payloads; the default expected signature is the placeholder 'abc123def456'. The trigger is a user-invoked API call rather than an install or import lifecycle hook, but fetching and executing arbitrary remote JavaScript is the package's entire declared purpose, and the detached worker continues running after the client is closed.
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
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for tanksync (9 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
Remove tanksync 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 tanksync 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 tanksync-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.