Which versions of kertash are malicious?

The following PyPI versions of kertash are flagged malicious: 0.1.4, 0.1.5. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate kertash if I installed it?

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

If kertash 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 kertash part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — kertash is associated with the 2025-08-kertash 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 kertash across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for kertash (2 malicious versions).

Malicious package

kertashPyPI

Advisory published Aug 12, 2025Updated Dec 31, 2025

kertash is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2025-191774) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 0.1.4, 0.1.5). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in kertash (PyPI)

MAL-2025-191774

Immediate action

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

pip uninstall kertash

What this malware does

When using methods from the package, it downloads an obfuscated code from Github and puts it in multiple localisation. While it appears that this code is used to perform action user requested, deobfuscation reveals exfiltrating user's data instead.

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

Campaign: 2025-08-kertash

Reasons (based on the campaign):

exfiltration-generic
A Telegram webhook is used to send collected data.
obfuscation
action-hidden-in-lib-usage

Malicious versions

2 flagged

0.1.40.1.5

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

9186893a63a7ed152a9b7d37d35db076087019315d9ccf5e53b6862fc12fd5a3

3cb3ef6da7e0d1c1461bb944c5ff0e356b73e52d271afa9e94435097f1d0764f

562b62099929e8a145015ac5b08bdc0d669a9cd030f8fe524d9e523bdca392c0

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for kertash (2 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
kertash 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 kertash 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. kertash on PyPI has been identified as a malicious package (versions 0.1.4, 0.1.5 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

2025-08-kertash

References

bad-packages.kam193.eu

Credits

Kamil Mańkowski (kam193)

Detect & block this

O3 blocks kertash-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

All malware advisories How O3 detects malware Vulnerability database