Which versions of zeal-util-hooks are malicious?

The following npm versions of zeal-util-hooks are flagged malicious: 0.0.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate zeal-util-hooks if I installed it?

zeal-util-hooks is built to steal secrets, so assume every credential the build or runtime could read is compromised. Remove it from your project and lockfile, then rotate ALL exposed secrets — npm/registry tokens, cloud keys, CI/CD secrets, SSH keys, and any .env values — from a known-clean machine. Audit logs for unauthorized use of those credentials.

I already installed zeal-util-hooks — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If zeal-util-hooks 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.

Is zeal-util-hooks part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — zeal-util-hooks is associated with the RLMA-2026-10815, IN-MAL-2026-020747 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 zeal-util-hooks across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for zeal-util-hooks (version 0.0.0).

Malicious package

zeal-util-hooksnpm

Advisory published Sep 22, 2026Updated Sep 30, 2026

zeal-util-hooks is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16541) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 0.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in zeal-util-hooks (npm)

MAL-2026-16541

Immediate action

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

npm uninstall zeal-util-hooks

What this malware does

postinstall.js and index.js load canary.js, which POSTs a JSON payload to https://npm-canary.aveliscare.com/beacon at install time and on require. The payload contains os.hostname(), os.userInfo() username, cwd, process.platform, node version, npm user agent, parent package name/version, and a fixed allowlist of CI-identifier env vars (GITHUB_REPOSITORY, GITHUB_ACTOR, GITHUB_REF, GITHUB_RUN_ID, EAS/VERCEL/BUILDKITE identifiers). The endpoint is overridable via ZEAL_CANARY_URL but defaults to the hardcoded aveliscare.com host. The package advertises publisher Zeal (getzeal.io, github.com/zeal-io); the beacon destination aveliscare.com does not match that publisher. The collected fields are host/CI identifiers rather than credentials or filesystem contents, and no code execution, credential read, or persistent artifact is present. The install-time/require-time outbound network without opt-out breaks air-gapped installs, and the publisher/destination-domain mismatch is the shape typical of a dependency-confusion canary used to log where a placeholder name resolves.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

0.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

aadbcafaeb12ab9324d6bffe1b9c7bbe510663d033aaf4ff9b5ad5fee94156f9

2c9ed95500d2f1c637bcf47151a9220c0a81ee6cbd7a7aa4a8f66c74fed6e341

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for zeal-util-hooks (version 0.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
zeal-util-hooks is built to steal secrets, so assume every credential the build or runtime could read is compromised. Remove it from your project and lockfile, then rotate ALL exposed secrets — npm/registry tokens, cloud keys, CI/CD secrets, SSH keys, and any .env values — from a known-clean machine. Audit logs for unauthorized use of those credentials.
Did it already run?
If zeal-util-hooks 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

No. zeal-util-hooks on npm has been identified as a malicious package (version 0.0.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

RLMA-2026-10815IN-MAL-2026-020747

References

npmjs.com

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder
ReversingLabs · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks zeal-util-hooks-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

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