shadowkwPyPI
Advisory published Updated
shadowkw is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2024-10460) that steals credentials and exfiltrates sensitive data (malicious version 912.6). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in shadowkw (PyPI)
What this malware does
A campaign of probably pentest packages flooding PYPI. Installing the package or importing the module triggers reporting basic info like hostname, path and the username to the package author. There is no other purpose of the package.
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: 2024-11-byted-dast
Reasons (based on the campaign):
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The package contains code to exfiltrate basic data from the system, like IP or username. It has a limited risk.
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typosquatting
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dependency-confusion
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'shadowkw' @ 912.6 (pypi) as malicious.
It is considered malicious because:
- The package communicates with a domain associated with malicious activity.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Credential / info stealerFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for shadowkw (version 912.6).
If you installed it — respond
shadowkw 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 shadowkw 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
- Kamil Mańkowski (kam193)
- OpenSSF: Package Analysis · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks shadowkw-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the credential exfiltration and severs the channel.