zero-baileysnpm
Advisory published Updated
zero-baileys is a confirmed malicious npm package (MAL-2026-16280) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 2.5.5, 2.6.0, 2.7.0…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in zero-baileys (npm)
What this malware does
zero-baileys is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library. Static keyword co-occurrence fired on lib/Utils/messages-media.js where require('child_process'), https.request, hostname, and POST all appear in the same file. In Baileys and its forks, messages-media.js handles media encryption/decryption and HTTP(S) uploads/downloads to WhatsApp's own media endpoints; child_process is used for optional ffmpeg/imagemagick invocation for media conversion. The keyword pattern is consistent with that documented functionality rather than with exfiltration: no specific installer-side data read (env, ~/.aws, ~/.ssh, ~/.npmrc, browser stores) is identified being sent to a non-first-party destination, and no install-time lifecycle hook or top-level side effect is present. No hardcoded attacker C2, no obfuscated destination, no credential-database or wallet enumeration, and no persistence artifact is observed. As a Baileys fork the package does carry the category-level concerns of that ecosystem (some forks have added covert side-effects such as auto-follow of author channels using the caller's session), but nothing of that shape is corroborated here.
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
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for zero-baileys (9 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
zero-baileys 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 zero-baileys 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 zero-baileys-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.