nft-metadata-resolverRubyGems
Advisory published Updated
nft-metadata-resolver is a confirmed malicious RubyGems package (MAL-2026-17792) that executes malicious code on install (malicious version 0.9.1). Do not install it — remove it immediately and rotate any exposed credentials.
Malicious code in nft-metadata-resolver (RubyGems)
What this malware does
The gem ships a native-extension script at ext/nft_metadata_resolver/extconf.rb that RubyGems auto-executes during gem install. The script carries a base64-encoded Ruby payload, decodes it with Base64.decode64 and runs it via eval inside a double-forked, detached, delayed child process. The decoded payload opens a TCP connection to the hardcoded bare-IP endpoint 45.138.12.177:8089 and bridges /bin/sh standard I/O to that socket using IO.popen and IO.copy_stream in both directions, giving the remote endpoint an interactive shell on the installer's host. Execution is gated by sandbox-evasion checks that skip CI environments, ephemeral or sandbox hostnames, generated analyst-shaped usernames, analysis working directories, and hosts with short uptimes, firing only when developer-shaped home-directory signals are present. The gem's advertised identity is inconsistent with its contents: the package is published as nft-metadata-resolver, the README describes a 'bitcoin-rpc-lite' library, and the extension declares a makefile target named bitcoin_rpc_lite_native while shipping no native C/C++ source for a real addon build. The extconf.rb's sole purpose is to decode and execute the embedded payload.
The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'nft-metadata-resolver' @ 0.9.1 (rubygems) as malicious.
It is considered malicious because:
- The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.
Malicious versions
Indicators of compromise (SHA-256)
Detection & response playbook
Malicious packageFind it
Search your lockfiles and build artifacts for nft-metadata-resolver (version 0.9.1).
If you installed it — respond
Remove nft-metadata-resolver 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 nft-metadata-resolver 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
- OpenSSF: Package Analysis · finder
Detect & block this
O3 blocks nft-metadata-resolver-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.