Which versions of bettercolorstesting are malicious?

The following PyPI versions of bettercolorstesting are flagged malicious: 1.0.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate bettercolorstesting if I installed it?

bettercolorstesting 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 bettercolorstesting — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If bettercolorstesting 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 bettercolorstesting part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — bettercolorstesting is associated with the 2023-12-valuent 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 bettercolorstesting across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for bettercolorstesting (version 1.0.0).

Part of a larger attack: 2023-12-valuent published 17 malicious packages. See the full campaign →

Malicious package

bettercolorstestingPyPI

Advisory published Nov 30, 2024Updated Dec 12, 2025

bettercolorstesting is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2024-12218) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in bettercolorstesting (PyPI)

MAL-2024-12218

Immediate action

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

pip uninstall bettercolorstesting

What this malware does

Packages either test the malicious behaviour, or actually download and run a simple remote script during the installation.

Category: PROBABLY_PENTEST - Packages looking like typical pentest packages, but also anything that looks like testing, exploring pre-prepared kits, research & co, with clearly low-harm possibilities.

Campaign: 2023-12-valuent

Reasons (based on the campaign):

The package contains code to exfiltrate basic data from the system, like IP or username. It has a limited risk.
The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.
Downloads and executes a remote malicious script.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

1.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

878bc6d33ebd6158009ec874d1cbeb88951f51c2a6ac02994c33d369ad8a0773

607fc60886a9983c22c65cd01bb93585f27b0830f203f3b3b181ff12026ea036

42f3e930c5caaeda5f967533004e2968a944b98e79a95160252a33466f7b1dd2

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for bettercolorstesting (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
bettercolorstesting 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 bettercolorstesting 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. bettercolorstesting on PyPI 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

2023-12-valuent

References

bad-packages.kam193.eu

Credits

Kamil Mańkowski (kam193)

Detect & block this

O3 blocks bettercolorstesting-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

All malware advisories How O3 detects malware Vulnerability database