kafka-helmsmanPyPI
Advisory published Updated
kafka-helmsman is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-17702) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 99.0.1, 99.0.2, 99.0.3…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in kafka-helmsman (PyPI)
What this malware does
The sdist for kafka-helmsman 99.0.5 is a dependency-confusion placeholder targeting the internal Tesla project name github.com/teslamotors/kafka-helmsman. setup.py contains no build logic; its top-level code starts a daemon thread that collects hostname, current working directory, os.uname output, a timestamp, and a UUID, then POSTs the JSON body to https://webhook.site/bf5cb178-e0cf-43b6-8b1e-fb5d2f6ea9c9 and additionally transmits the same payload to the OAST host jw1yrpkm5xpav.httpcollaborator.com both over HTTPS and via DNS lookups (nslookup/getent/dig) with a base64-url path. Because setup.py executes during pip metadata and wheel build, the beacon fires on any default pip install kafka-helmsman and on any resolver that evaluates the sdist. The package declares packages=[] and py_modules=[] and ships no functional kafka tooling, so an installer that mis-resolved the public name instead of the internal one receives only the exfiltration payload. README framing of the artifact as Bugcrowd/Tesla research does not change the behavior: installer-identifying data is sent to hardcoded third-party endpoints controlled by the author.
Installing the package or importing the module exfiltrates basic information about the host, and the package has no other purpose.
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: GENERIC-standard-pypi-install-pentest
Reasons (based on the campaign):
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The package contains code to exfiltrate basic data from the system, like IP or username. It has a limited risk.
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The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'kafka-helmsman' @ 99.0.1 (pypi) as malicious.
It is considered malicious because:
- The package communicates with a domain associated with malicious activity.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for kafka-helmsman (6 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
kafka-helmsman 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 kafka-helmsman 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
- OpenSSF: Package Analysis · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks kafka-helmsman-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.