Malicious Code Injection in breakable_vicuna-smiletea: A Threat to npm Packages
Summary
MAL-2025-100091: Malicious code in breakable_vicuna-smiletea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package 'breakable_vicuna-smiletea' is part of a series of npm packages associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. These packages are designed to manipulate the npm registry by automatically generating and publishing derivative packages with randomized names. This behavior is intended to inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards, making the package a potential threat to the integrity of the npm ecosystem.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in 'breakable_vicuna-smiletea' stems from its malicious payload, which modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This results in the continuous republishing of variants that can pollute the npm registry, leading to potential security risks and reputation damage for developers. The origin of this issue is linked to the exploitation of npm's publishing capabilities, allowing for the automated creation of numerous malicious packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall breakable_vicuna-smileteaIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary workaround, you can remove the 'breakable_vicuna-smiletea' package from your project by executing the command: 'npm uninstall breakable_vicuna-smiletea'. This will prevent any malicious code from executing until a fixed version is available.
Conclusion
The 'breakable_vicuna-smiletea' package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and floods the npm registry. It is crucial for developers to take immediate action by uninstalling the package and monitoring their projects for vulnerabilities.
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FAQ
'breakable_vicuna-smiletea' is an npm package involved in a token reward campaign that generates and publishes malicious packages.
This vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry and may compromise the security and integrity of your project.
You should uninstall the package immediately and check for any updates or patches that may address the vulnerability.
Yes, you can use Vulert to monitor your project for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time using just your package-lock.json file.
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