transform-es2015-unicode-regexnpm
Advisory published Updated
transform-es2015-unicode-regex is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-13612) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 6.24.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in transform-es2015-unicode-regex (npm)
What this malware does
package.json declares the package's own name as a dependency (and devDependency) with the specifier http://pack.nppacks.com/npm/transform-es2015-unicode-regex, a plain-HTTP, non-registry, third-party host unrelated to the legitimate babel-plugin-transform-es2015-unicode-regex it name-resembles. When a consumer runs npm install, npm fetches whatever tarball that URL currently returns and installs it, running any lifecycle scripts and making the fetched code require-able — arbitrary install-time code execution controlled by the operator of pack.nppacks.com, over an unauthenticated cleartext channel that is also trivially MITM-able. The package's index.js is not the referenced Babel plugin's code and carries a self-labeled 'Security Research Testing Purpose' comment; the name mimics babel-plugin-transform-es2015-unicode-regex, increasing the chance of accidental installation.
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
TyposquatFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for transform-es2015-unicode-regex (version 6.24.1).
If you installed it — respond
transform-es2015-unicode-regex is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove transform-es2015-unicode-regex, install the correct package, and rotate any secrets exposed during the install since post-install scripts may have already run.
Did it already run?
If transform-es2015-unicode-regex 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
- ReversingLabs · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks transform-es2015-unicode-regex-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.