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MAL-2026-6698

Dashboard / Malicious Package / MAL-2026-6698

MAL-2026-6698

Published: 30 Jun 2026Last Modified: 1 Jul 2026

Summary: Malicious code in cursed-modules (npm)

Details: Source: amazon-inspector (45b6aab954f9b8edbc759c97eabe39d7a070c4dbe852586422761ad0f8c7ad95) [email protected] executes attacker-controlled code on three separate triggers and operates a bidirectional command channel against a hardcoded bare-IP C2 at 154.57.164.70. 1) Install-time exfiltration: package.json wires preinstall, install, and postinstall all to `node install.js`. install.js reads /flag, /flag.txt, /app/flag.txt, /root/flag.txt, environment variables (including FLAG/HTB_FLAG), runs `id` and `hostname`, greps the filesystem for CTF flag patterns, serializes process.env, base64-encodes the payload wrapped in a fake `ecto_module` YAML manifest, and HTTP PUTs it to 154.57.164.70:31682/api/modules/ECT-987654. 2) Require-time AWS credential theft: index.js (the declared `main`) runs an IIFE on require that, when the hostname matches a Docker container ID pattern, invokes `aws sts get-caller-identity`, fetches IAM credentials from the IMDS endpoint http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/, lists Secrets Manager secrets, reads /home/node sources and flag files, dumps process.env, and PUTs the base64-encoded result to 154.57.164.70:32447/api/modules/ECT-654321. 3) Broader recon: recon.js reads /root/.npmrc, /home/user/.npmrc, project package.json/lock files, verdaccio configs, htpasswd files, cron jobs, and supervisord configs, then PUTs the data (with a curl fallback) to 154.57.164.70:30728/api/modules/ECT-654321 — directly harvesting npm registry tokens and private-registry credentials. 4) Backdoor: rce.sh PUTs an arbitrary shell command to 154.57.164.70:32447 under module slot ECT-654321 and GETs the base64 command output from slot ECT-987654, completing a request/response command relay over the same C2. The package self-identifies (publish-and-arm.sh, install.js manifest) as a deliberate dependency-confusion attack against verdaccio proxies; the 999.0.9 version is consistent with that pattern. Three independent lifecycle hooks plus a require-time IIFE guarantee the payload fires on default `npm install` and on any consumption of the module. Source: ossf-package-analysis (0dade1c70e7e7f58c8f791931e5fe7cf7c40b68358173ed097b7dca6a4f4041d) The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'cursed-modules' @ 999.0.0 (npm) as malicious. It is considered malicious because: - The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.

Affected packages

Package

Name: cursed-modules

Purl: pkg:npm/cursed-modules

Affected ranges

Type: N/A

Events:

Introduced- None

Fixed -None

Affected versions

999.0.0

999.0.3

999.0.1

999.0.2

999.0.6

999.0.8

999.0.5

999.0.7

999.0.4

999.0.9