Malicious Code Injection in bungoma Package: Covert Channel Subscription Vulnerability

bungoma Updated 30 Sep 2026

Summary

30/09/2026

Disclosed on

CRITICAL

Severity

No i

Fix available

Critical

Severity

Not published

CVSS Score

MAL-2026-17389: Malicious code in bungoma (npm). Affects bungoma versions 1.0.1 – 1.1.0. No fix is published. How to fix ↓

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Background

The bungoma package is part of a larger family of forks derived from the Baileys WhatsApp Web library. It is designed to interact with the WhatsApp socket layer, allowing users to send and receive messages. However, this package has been identified as having a significant security vulnerability that enables malicious actors to exploit the user's authenticated WhatsApp session.

Vulnerability Detail

The vulnerability in the bungoma package arises from its ability to inject malicious code into the WhatsApp socket layer. When a user connects, the injected code sends an authenticated 'w:mex' FOLLOW query to attacker-controlled WhatsApp Channel/Newsletter JIDs, effectively subscribing the victim's account to channels without their consent. This is achieved through various obfuscation techniques that hide the target JIDs from casual review. The malicious action does not exfiltrate credentials or execute arbitrary code but uses the user's session to gain unauthorized reach and subscribers for the attacker's channels.

How To Fix

This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.

npm uninstall bungoma

If it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.

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Workaround

As a temporary workaround, users can avoid using the bungoma package until a patched version is confirmed. Additionally, consider using alternative libraries that do not have known vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

The bungoma package has a critical vulnerability that allows malicious code to exploit users' WhatsApp sessions. It is essential for users to update to the latest version or find alternative solutions to mitigate the risk. Monitoring tools like Vulert can assist in identifying vulnerabilities in your projects.

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