Malicious Code Vulnerability in ayala-tea-archive: Exploitation of npm Packages
Summary
MAL-2025-99725: Malicious code in ayala-tea-archive (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The ayala-tea-archive package is part of a broader campaign associated with the tea.xyz token reward system. This package, like others in the campaign, is designed to manipulate npm's publishing system, potentially affecting developers' reputations and the integrity of the npm registry. It includes scripts that automate the generation and publication of derivative packages, which can lead to a polluted ecosystem.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the ayala-tea-archive package, which contains malicious scripts that modify the package.json file to remove private flags, alter version numbers, and generate random package names. This behavior is intended to inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards, leading to a significant risk of registry pollution and potential exploitation of unsuspecting developers who may inadvertently use these packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall ayala-tea-archiveIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary measure, you can prevent the installation of this package by adding it to your project's .npmrc file with the following line: 'package-lock=false'. This will help avoid automatic installations of potentially harmful packages.
Conclusion
The ayala-tea-archive package poses a significant risk due to its malicious behavior aimed at exploiting the npm ecosystem. It is crucial for developers to be vigilant, remove affected packages, and utilize tools like Vulert to monitor their dependencies for vulnerabilities.
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FAQ
The ayala-tea-archive package is part of a malicious campaign that aims to exploit npm's publishing system for token rewards.
This vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry, affecting the integrity of your project and potentially introducing security risks.
You should immediately remove the ayala-tea-archive package from your project and check for any other affected packages.
Yes, you can use Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time without requiring code access or installation.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without needing to sign up.
