zeal-utilsnpm
Advisory published Updated
zeal-utils is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16542) that opens a backdoor for remote access (malicious version 0.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in zeal-utils (npm)
What this malware does
canary.js in [email protected] collects host reconnaissance data (os.hostname(), os.userInfo(), process.platform, cwd, node version) and POSTs it to the hardcoded external endpoint https://npm-canary.aveliscare.com. The destination is not a package registry or documented vendor endpoint and is unrelated to any legitimate utility functionality implied by the package name. The package name and near-empty version (0.0.0) combined with a single script that beacons system identification to an author-controlled host is consistent with a dependency-confusion or canary-token style beacon that identifies internal build environments where the package resolves.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Backdoor / remote accessFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for zeal-utils (version 0.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
zeal-utils 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 zeal-utils 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 zeal-utils-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the C2 callback and severs the channel.