type-asyncnpm
Advisory published Updated
type-async is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-10164) that typosquats a legitimate package to trick installs (malicious version 3.3.7). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in type-async (npm)
What this malware does
The package presents itself as pino (typosquat; README mirrors pino). The main entry index.js exports a middleware factory that, on invocation, spawns lib/caller.js as a detached Node child process. lib/caller.js performs an HTTPS GET against a remote JSON pastebin (https://json.extendsclass.com/bin/250fca079abb), extracts the .cookie field of the response, and passes it to new Function.constructor("require", s), then invokes the resulting function with the host's require binding — giving whoever controls the pastebin arbitrary code execution on the machine that loaded the package, with full Node module access. Alternate payload URLs on jsonkeeper.com (https://jsonkeeper.com/b/XRGF3, https://jsonkeeper.com/b/4NAKK) are stored base64-encoded inside fake process.env objects in lib/caller.js and lib/const.js under a DEV_API_KEY key, obscuring the destination hosts from casual inspection. The fetched content is unpinned and mutable, the destinations are anonymous paste services unrelated to the package's advertised logging purpose, and the payload is executed with no integrity verification.
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 type-async (version 3.3.7).
If you installed it — respond
type-async is a typosquat — you almost certainly intended a legitimately-named package. Remove type-async, 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 type-async 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 type-async-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.