test-brotli-testmetestnpm
Advisory published Updated
test-brotli-testmetest is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-18181) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in test-brotli-testmetest (npm)
What this malware does
test-brotli-testmetest 1.0.0 ships a rebuild of the data-pipeline-testmetest 2.0.1 credential stealer and runs it on npm install: its install script runs node-gyp rebuild, and the binding.gyp source <!(env node index.js >/dev/null 2>&1; echo stub.c) makes node-gyp run index.js, an obfuscated loader that decrypts a Brotli-compressed payload and pipes it into Bun. Published by npm account testnewtestme2 on 2026-10-21.
The package ships a binding.gyp whose sources field uses GYP command expansion <!(env node index.js...; echo stub.c) to shell out and run node index.js during node-gyp rebuild. The gyp target type is none and no C/C++ sources are shipped, so the file has no legitimate native-build purpose; its only effect is to invoke index.js at install time. index.js is a ~586KB char-code array decoded via a Caesar-shift substitution and passed to eval. The decoded body uses node:crypto createDecipheriv("aes-128-gcm") with hardcoded hex key/IV/AAD to decrypt a large hex ciphertext, wrapped in a self-executing async IIFE with a swallowed catch. The combination of a build-config command-expansion execution vector, absence of any real native source, and a multi-layer obfuscated/encrypted opaque payload executed at install is the canonical install-time dropper shape — the installer runs attacker-supplied code on npm install with no visibility into what the decrypted payload does.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for test-brotli-testmetest (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
test-brotli-testmetest is built to steal secrets, so assume every credential the build or runtime could read is compromised. Remove it from your project and lockfile, then rotate ALL exposed secrets — npm/registry tokens, cloud keys, CI/CD secrets, SSH keys, and any .env values — from a known-clean machine. Audit logs for unauthorized use of those credentials.
Did it already run?
If test-brotli-testmetest 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
- Robin Frehner, Protet · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks test-brotli-testmetest-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.