Which versions of cleanup-string are malicious?

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

How do I remediate cleanup-string if I installed it?

Remove cleanup-string from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.

I already installed cleanup-string — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If cleanup-string 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 cleanup-string part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — cleanup-string is associated with the IN-MAL-2026-020805 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 cleanup-string across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for cleanup-string (version 1.0.0).

Malicious package

cleanup-stringPyPI

Advisory published Sep 30, 2026Updated Sep 30, 2026

cleanup-string is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-17325) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 1.0.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in cleanup-string (PyPI)

MAL-2026-17325

Immediate action

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

pip uninstall cleanup-string

What this malware does

The package advertises itself as a pure-Python string helper (strip, slugify, case conversion, whitespace collapse) and its README states the implementation is standard-library only. However, cleanup_string/__init__.py performs from._impl import cleanup, which loads a 1.3 MB Windows-only native extension cleanup_string/_impl.cp313-win_amd64.vmp.pyd (sha256 980ae204f04f9a7e68666670eb5b236bc7347d0111697df1015de665fd1a1712). The filename embeds the VMProtect convention .vmp and the binary matches that packer's signature: the only readable strings are Win32 API imports (LoadLibraryA, GetModuleHandleA, HeapAlloc, DisableThreadLibraryCalls, ExitProcess, KERNEL32.dll, VCRUNTIME140.dll) and the remaining ~1.3 MB is high-entropy virtualized code. VMProtect exists to defeat static and dynamic analysis; the trivial advertised functionality has no legitimate need for a virtualized native module. Any Windows Python 3.13 environment that imports cleanup_string executes this opaque, anti-analysis-protected code with the privileges of the importing process.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

1.0.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

844c5afa9f00c02149f4f6314447c5738e04ed419014809c1df83f31aa012525

Detection & response playbook

Malicious package

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for cleanup-string (version 1.0.0).
If you installed it — respond
Remove cleanup-string from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.
Did it already run?
If cleanup-string 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. cleanup-string 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

IN-MAL-2026-020805

References

pypi.org

Credits

Amazon Inspector · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks cleanup-string-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the malicious outbound activity and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

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