test-dev-bootnpm
Advisory published Updated
test-dev-boot is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-11488) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 0.1.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in test-dev-boot (npm)
What this malware does
On require/import (and when invoked as a bin), the package's main entrypoint detects Windows and installs an HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run entry named 'WindowsAutoUpdate' that points at a launcher.vbs staged above the package root via wscript.exe, providing auto-start persistence on every user login. In the same import-time flow it fires background tasks sendExtInfo() and createAndSaveArchive() (host recon + archive-and-upload grabber) sourced from the declared sibling dependencies test-dev-host and test-dev-sync, which the local module re-exports and invokes (main, handleConnection, mainLoop, sendExtInfo, createAndSaveArchive). All errors are silently swallowed and the persistence value name is chosen to look like a Windows update task, hiding the behavior from the developer installing the package.
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 test-dev-boot (version 0.1.0).
If you installed it — respond
Remove test-dev-boot 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 test-dev-boot 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 test-dev-boot-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.