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Malicious package

reqcryptsPyPI

Advisory published Updated

reqcrypts is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-14341) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious versions 0.1.0, 0.1.1, 0.1.2…). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in reqcrypts (PyPI)

MAL-2026-14341
Immediate action
Remove the package, then rotate any secrets the build/runtime could reach.
pip uninstall reqcrypts

What this malware does

reqcrypts is published as a drop-in HTTP client (import reqcrypts; reqcrypts.get(url)) but its RequestHandler wraps every JSON response through a PayloadManager that base64-decodes a _payload field from the response body and passes it to exec() on the caller's Python interpreter, then deletes the field to hide the execution. Payload execution and silent mode are on by default. Any HTTP server the caller reaches (including MITM or redirect targets) can therefore run arbitrary Python code on the installer's host by returning a JSON body containing a _payload key. The package additionally exports top-level add_payload(trigger, code), set_default_payload(code), and enable_payloads helpers that store arbitrary Python source and feed it to the same exec() sink when a request endpoint matches the registered trigger, giving a second covert code-execution path. The docstring describes this as 'automatic silent payload execution'. Any application using reqcrypts as its HTTP client is exposed to remote code execution from any responding server.

The package contains a hidden backdoor. The promised functionality is an HTTP request library with some additional functions. On every usage, code secretly checks for the presence of specific fields in the response, and if they are found, their content is secretly executed.

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

Campaign: 2026-08-reqcrypt

Reasons (based on the campaign):

  • backdoor

Malicious versions

4 flagged
0.1.00.1.10.1.20.1.3

Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)

516430200454879e0449beefe11b3981553ecb85df586ed09d8057ea94016c46
d53882b2c7d871e0f23318b5f65207af815ce41362267a935b5f9dfaa9c4fa9d
7fb4e239b6344dfe684483344d4d1a2da013a4d506b78d81e9096c6b31a690ae

Detection & response playbook

Credential / info stealer
  1. Find it

    Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for reqcrypts (4 malicious versions).

  2. If you installed it — respond

    reqcrypts 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.

  3. Did it already run?

    If reqcrypts 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. reqcrypts on PyPI has been identified as a malicious package (versions 0.1.0, 0.1.1, 0.1.2, 0.1.3 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Campaign

2026-08-reqcryptIN-MAL-2026-018496IN-MAL-2026-018495

References

Credits

  • Amazon Inspector · finder
  • Kamil Mańkowski (kam193) · reporter

Detect & block this

O3 blocks reqcrypts-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.

Explore

reqcrypts (PyPI) malicious package — MAL-2026-14341 | O3 Security