Malicious Code Injection in Autonomous Starfish 0xRequest Package
Summary
MAL-2025-99671: Malicious code in autonomous_starfish_0xrequest (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
Check if this vulnerability affects your application
Upload a manifest or SBOM and we'll show whether you're affected, plus every other risky package in the same scan.
No signup required · Results in about 60 seconds
Background
The 'autonomous_starfish_0xrequest' package is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate automated publishing of derivative packages, which can inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. However, it has been compromised to include malicious scripts that manipulate package metadata.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the 'autonomous_starfish_0xrequest' package stems from its inclusion in a malicious campaign that floods the npm registry with derivative packages. The malicious code modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior can lead to the pollution of the npm registry and potential security risks for developers who unknowingly use these compromised packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall autonomous_starfish_0xrequestIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
Tip — Not sure whether your app is affected? Vulert can check the versions your app actually runs. Scan free →
Workaround
As a temporary workaround, you can remove the 'autonomous_starfish_0xrequest' package from your project by executing: 'npm uninstall autonomous_starfish_0xrequest'. This will prevent any malicious code from executing in your environment until a secure version is available.
Conclusion
The 'autonomous_starfish_0xrequest' package has been identified as containing malicious code that can compromise the integrity of projects using it. It is crucial to take immediate action by updating or removing the package to safeguard your application.
See every vulnerability recorded for autonomous_starfish_0xrequest →
FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed for automated publishing of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the modification of your project's package.json file and the introduction of malicious packages, potentially compromising your project's integrity.
You can use the Vulert platform to monitor and alert for open-source vulnerabilities in your software. Visit Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected without any signup.
If you cannot update the package, consider removing it from your project as a temporary measure to mitigate risks.
Detailed information can be found in the vulnerability report and by monitoring updates from the npm registry.
