vend-utilitiesnpm
Advisory published Updated
vend-utilities is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-5832) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 14.12.11). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in vend-utilities (npm)
What this malware does
package.json declares preinstall: node index.js, causing index.js to run automatically on npm install. The script collects installer host identity (os.hostname(), os.userInfo() including uid/gid/shell/homedir, process.cwd(), process.platform/arch, OS release, memory, cpus) and executes whoami and id via child_process to capture their output, then POSTs the combined JSON payload to a hardcoded Burp Collaborator subdomain at https://6cjy9tle5weq8pr6m8r5znzd349vxmlb.oastify.com/detox56 (index.js:7,:83). The package has empty author/description metadata and a dependency-confusion-style name. An undeclared 10.8 KB sibling file i ships in the tarball but is not reached by the preinstall path. Installing this package leaks installer host identity and shell-recon output to an attacker-controlled endpoint.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for vend-utilities (version 14.12.11).
If you installed it — respond
Remove vend-utilities 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 vend-utilities 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 vend-utilities-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.