Which versions of shanks are malicious?

The following PyPI versions of shanks are flagged malicious: 0.0.4. Treat any of these as compromised.

How do I remediate shanks if I installed it?

Remove shanks from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.

I already installed shanks — how do I know if it already compromised me?

If shanks 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.

How do I find shanks across my projects, lockfiles, and CI pipelines?

Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for shanks (version 0.0.4).

Malicious package

shanksPyPI

Advisory published Nov 7, 2026Updated Nov 9, 2026

shanks is a confirmed malicious PyPI package (MAL-2026-19051) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 0.0.4). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.

Malicious code in shanks (PyPI)

MAL-2026-19051

Immediate action

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

pip uninstall shanks

What this malware does

The module shanks/shanks.py, when imported, looks up the machine's public IP address and location from a geolocation service and posts the IP address, city, state, postal code, latitude and longitude, with an @everyone mention, to a hard-coded Discord webhook. The package describes itself only as "A small example pkg". Version examined: 0.0.4; sdist SHA-256 dc417305d4b083a60ffda7aa310952306258fc12afc536a0641fc4a79c95bed8.

Malicious versions

1 flagged

0.0.4

Detection & response playbook

Malicious package

Find it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for shanks (version 0.0.4).
If you installed it — respond
Remove shanks from your project and lockfile, then assume any secrets accessible to the build or runtime were exposed: rotate API keys, tokens, and credentials, and audit for unexpected outbound activity or persistence.
Did it already run?
If shanks 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. shanks on PyPI has been identified as a malicious package (version 0.0.4 flagged). It should be removed immediately — do not install or keep it in your dependency tree.

Credits

Cordon Security, Inc. · finder
Oluwatosin Amokeodo · finder

Detect & block this

O3 blocks shanks-class packages before install and in CI — and if it already ran, its runtime egress monitoring catches the malicious outbound activity and severs the channel.

Malware detection Runtime egress monitoring

Explore

All malware advisories How O3 detects malware Vulnerability database