playwrightrPyPI
Advisory published Updated
playwrightr is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-10020) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in playwrightr (PyPI)
What this malware does
setup.py registers a CustomInstallCommand that runs automatically on pip install under Windows. It uses WinHTTP via ctypes to fetch a binary from florinn.dev:65534/ins.exe, writes it to %TEMP%\runner.exe, deletes the NTFS Zone.Identifier alternate data stream to bypass Mark-of-the-Web / SmartScreen warnings, and launches the executable hidden via CreateProcessW with CREATE_NO_WINDOW. The package name is a one-character edit of the widely used 'playwright' PyPI package, and its only shipped functionality is an unrelated change_theme() stub referencing pyqt6darktheme, confirming the package exists solely to deliver the dropper. Installer harm: on pip install playwrightr on Windows, an attacker-controlled executable runs on the installer's machine with the installing user's privileges and with anti-detection measures actively engaged.
Package downloads and runs a remote executable, which was found to downloads further exes and starting coine mining
Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.
Campaign: 2026-07-pyqt6darktheme
Reasons (based on the campaign):
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cryptominer
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Downloads and executes a remote executable.
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malware
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The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for playwrightr (2 malicious versions).
If you installed it — respond
playwrightr 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 playwrightr 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 playwrightr-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.