journey-test-helloshellPyPI
Advisory published Updated
journey-test-helloshell is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-18124) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 0.2.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in journey-test-helloshell (PyPI)
What this malware does
setup.py registers a custom install command (cmdclass install hook) and also fires at module import that connects to the hardcoded bare-IP endpoint 137.131.233.62:8080 and bridges a /bin/bash -i subprocess over the socket, giving the operator interactive shell access on the installer's host. Before opening the shell, the code POSTs host identifiers (hostname, uid, JCX_ENVIRONMENT) over plaintext HTTP to http://137.131.233.62:443/shell-beacon. The install hook double-forks, calls setsid, redirects stdio to /dev/null, and enters an infinite reconnect loop with a 60-second sleep, persisting the backdoor beyond the pip install process. A /tmp/.jcx_channel.done guard file is used to coordinate the channel. Destination is a bare IP unrelated to any publisher domain.
In specific environments, package starts a reverse shell during installation.
Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.
Campaign: 2026-10-journey-test-helloshell
Reasons (based on the campaign):
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The package contains code to create a reverse shell, allowing an attacker to execute any commands on the victim's machine.
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The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.
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targetted-attack
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for journey-test-helloshell (version 0.2.0).
If you installed it — respond
journey-test-helloshell 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 journey-test-helloshell 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
- Kamil Mańkowski (kam193) · reporter
Detect & block this
O3 blocks journey-test-helloshell-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.