tcb-web-headernpm
Advisory published Updated
tcb-web-header is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-12476) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 20.5.7). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in tcb-web-header (npm)
What this malware does
On require() of tcb-web-header, platform.js selects an OS/arch-specific endpoint, downloads a binary from Cloudflare workers.dev hosts whose names are reconstructed at runtime by joining split string fragments (e.g. oob-worker.cf99-9b.3.workers.dev, oob-worker.cf100-416.workers.dev, oob-worker.cf101-adf.workers.dev), writes the payload to /var/tmp or %TEMP% under a deceptive name (dotnet_diag<tag>.exe on Windows,.cache_<tag> on Unix), fs.chmodSync to 0o755, and spawns it detached via /bin/sh -c "<path> &" or cmd.exe /c start /b. A base64-encoded chunked DNS TXT retrieval channel over c.<domain>/N.<domain> under tin.dl.well1.site, tina.dl.well1.site, ldr.dl.well1.site, and win.dl.well1.site serves as a covert fallback transport when HTTPS is blocked. The package's declared purpose is a web header helper and there is no build/native-addon rationale for downloading and executing an unverified binary at import time; destination hosts are attacker-controlled, string-reassembled to defeat static scanners, and a token-gated DISABLE_TELEMETRY flag is used as a cover story.
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 tcb-web-header (version 20.5.7).
If you installed it — respond
Remove tcb-web-header 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 tcb-web-header 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 tcb-web-header-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.