Which versions of lightning are malicious?

The following PyPI versions of lightning are flagged malicious: 2.6.2, 2.6.3. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate lightning if I installed it?

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

If lightning 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 lightning part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — lightning is associated with the 2026-04-compr-lightning 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 lightning across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

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

Malicious package

lightningPyPI

Advisory published Apr 30, 2026Updated Jun 8, 2026

lightning is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-3201) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 2.6.2, 2.6.3). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in lightning (PyPI)

MAL-2026-3201

Immediate action

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

pip uninstall lightning

What this malware does

Versions 2.6.2, 2.6.3 were compromised.

Compromised versions contain injected code that starts automatically during importing the module, downloads (legitimate) JavaScript runtime, and executes included JavaScript infostealer. It collects credentials from multiple sources (e.g. files, process memory, cloud metadata endpoints, CLI commands like gh or gcloud), sensitive cryptocurrency data, shell history files. It also attempts to spread itself using discovered credentials to other repositories and packages.

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

Campaign: 2026-04-compr-lightning

Reasons (based on the campaign):

infostealer
files-exfiltration
exfiltration-ssh-keys
exfiltration-crypto
exfiltration-credentials
compromised-package

Malicious versions

2 flagged

2.6.22.6.3

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

703ac419d775488be137d7e01517d768da0b5581ab63338fb9523f2289f2b92c

21d1958db35f91cdd9e4daf8466ded080429f05ef2f989a858bef41af4d220b1

ed90aeeb51f0c9480d8f0590f5c035de65bd67722be97987087abbca61e5a21f

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for lightning (2 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
lightning 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 lightning 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. lightning on PyPI has been identified as a malicious package (versions 2.6.2, 2.6.3 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

2026-04-compr-lightning

References

Credits

Kamil Mańkowski (kam193) · analyst

Detect & block this

O3 blocks lightning-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

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