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Malicious package

ethercheckPyPI

Malicious code in ethercheck (PyPI) Remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

MAL-2024-12264
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
pip uninstall ethercheck

What this malware does

During importing, the code attempts to decrypt data embeded in READMEs. The decrypted code is then used to download further remote scripts

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

Campaign: 2023-11-decrypt-from-readme

Reasons (based on the campaign):

  • obfuscation

  • Downloads and executes a remote malicious script.

  • crypto-related

Malicious versions

2 flagged
1.1.11.1.2

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

599a971566336bf34713a7543760ea1e21a497602d38b02c08558336dbad0c99
e13d1ae706f2710b716eed91ab495919a1051d1067294ff00b456003f90574c7
6b6a54b938ca0f0c2606c178644dc6964731bc0328c068cf99526ef4df25b4a8
c202b40df14e5a6ba231853aefc190984e981a5f22ef90d3d2e3da641643e8dd

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer
  1. Find it

    Scan your lockfiles (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, yarn.lock, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, etc.) and build artifacts for ethercheck (2 malicious versions). O3 Security's supply-chain scanner checks every dependency against known-malicious package intelligence at install time and in CI, flagging ethercheck across your stack and pipelines.

  2. If you installed it — respond

    ethercheck 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.

  3. Did it already run?

    If ethercheck was ever installed, its post-install/runtime payload may have already executed. O3's L7 egress monitoring and runtime eBPF sensors detect the credential exfiltration or command-and-control callback after install and block the malicious outbound channel, so you catch and contain the actual compromise — not just the presence of the package.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 blocks ethercheck before install through its supply-chain scanner, and if it has already run, detects and severs the exfiltration or C2 callback at runtime through L7 egress monitoring and eBPF.

Frequently asked questions

No. ethercheck on PyPI has been identified as a malicious package (versions 1.1.1, 1.1.2 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

2023-11-decrypt-from-readme

References

Credits

  • Kamil Mańkowski (kam193)

Detect & block this

O3 blocks ethercheck-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.

ethercheck (PyPI) malicious package — MAL-2024-12264 | O3 Security