Which versions of notary-client are malicious?

The following PyPI versions of notary-client are flagged malicious: 3.0.0, 3.6.0. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate notary-client if I installed it?

notary-client 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 notary-client — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If notary-client 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 notary-client part of a known attack campaign?

Yes — notary-client is associated with the GENERIC-standard-pypi-install-pentest 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 notary-client across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for notary-client (2 malicious versions).

Malicious package

notary-clientPyPI

Advisory published Aug 28, 2025Updated Dec 31, 2025

notary-client is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2025-191804) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 3.0.0, 3.6.0). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in notary-client (PyPI)

MAL-2025-191804

Immediate action

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

pip uninstall notary-client

What this malware does

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):

The package contains code to exfiltrate basic data from the system, like IP or username. It has a limited risk.
The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.

Malicious versions

2 flagged

3.0.03.6.0

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

d8de45509e89902013530aa9a8b5af6caf7473d815fe252ce9fdba5129f78002

d6777fd3be7abdd8775b30e889a1bd66c4bef8af1794600867fc7292a8b9bcd0

ed9cf15bb00b00b63f43241da9e110044f146584ab6ade99af199c0801e41878

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for notary-client (2 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
notary-client 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 notary-client 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. notary-client on PyPI has been identified as a malicious package (versions 3.0.0, 3.6.0 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

GENERIC-standard-pypi-install-pentest

References

bad-packages.kam193.eu

Credits

Kamil Mańkowski (kam193)

Detect & block this

O3 blocks notary-client-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