Which versions of catme are malicious?

The following PyPI versions of catme are flagged malicious: 1.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate catme if I installed it?

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

If catme 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 catme part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — catme is associated with the 2023-12-09-papiculo 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 catme across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for catme (version 1.0).

Malicious package

catmePyPI

Advisory published Nov 29, 2024Updated Dec 12, 2025

catme is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2024-12230) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 1.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in catme (PyPI)

MAL-2024-12230

Immediate action

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

pip uninstall catme

What this malware does

Importing the module starts executing a remote script, as well as leaves a persitance in the .bashrc

Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.

Campaign: 2023-12-09-papiculo

Reasons (based on the campaign):

Downloads and executes a remote executable.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

1.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

dce6b833c4bc9c127f00beb4d9ce90e328422e82a123b3c1f1124a6455dce475

7b5df44af9cbed7b8a7112f36f9c99b466e9143b36d62fd43e4caf480df811d0

b33915e6dedc34f8d74203a27af2a45fc8acbde1afe83b2c71c6369e4959ccb6

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for catme (version 1.0).
If you installed it — respond
catme 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 catme 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. catme on PyPI has been identified as a malicious package (version 1.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

2023-12-09-papiculo

References

bad-packages.kam193.eu

Credits

Kamil Mańkowski (kam193)

Detect & block this

O3 blocks catme-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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