Malicious Code Injection in cold_skink-smiletea Package
Summary
MAL-2025-100654: Malicious code in cold_skink-smiletea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The cold_skink-smiletea package is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate the generation and publication of derivative packages, often with randomized names, to inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. Its functionality is compromised due to the presence of malicious scripts that manipulate package metadata.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the cold_skink-smiletea package, which contains malicious code that modifies the package.json file. This code removes private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names, leading to the continuous republishing of variants that pollute the npm registry. The ramifications include potential security risks for developers who unknowingly use these compromised packages, as well as damage to the integrity of the npm ecosystem.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall cold_skink-smileteaIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary measure, avoid using the cold_skink-smiletea package and monitor your package-lock.json file for any instances of this package. You can also use the Vulert platform to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability. Visit https://vulert.com/scanner to utilize the Vulert playground without any signup.
Conclusion
The cold_skink-smiletea package poses a significant security risk due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and repopulates the npm registry with compromised packages. It is crucial for developers to uninstall this package and monitor their projects for vulnerabilities to maintain the integrity of their applications.
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FAQ
The cold_skink-smiletea package is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to generate and publish derivative packages.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file, potentially leading to security vulnerabilities and the pollution of the npm registry with unwanted packages.
You should uninstall the cold_skink-smiletea package immediately using the command npm uninstall cold_skink-smiletea.
Yes, you can use Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json file for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time. Visit https://vulert.com for more information.
Regularly audit your dependencies, keep your packages updated, and utilize tools like Vulert to monitor for vulnerabilities.
