Malicious Code Injection in controlled_tortoise-notthedevs Package
Summary
MAL-2025-100954: Malicious code in controlled_tortoise-notthedevs (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The controlled_tortoise-notthedevs package is part of the npm ecosystem, which is widely used for JavaScript package management. This package has been identified as part of a malicious campaign that aims to exploit the npm registry by flooding it with derivative packages. The primary functionality of this package is to serve as a token reward mechanism, but it has been compromised to perform harmful actions.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the malicious code embedded within the controlled_tortoise-notthedevs package. This code is designed to modify the package.json file by removing private flags, altering version numbers, and generating random package names. The intent is to inflate developer reputation scores for the tea protocol token rewards by continuously republishing these variants, which pollutes the npm registry. This can lead to significant security risks, including the potential for dependency confusion and the introduction of further vulnerabilities into projects that rely on this package.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall controlled_tortoise-notthedevsIf 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 controlled_tortoise-notthedevs package from your project by executing: npm uninstall controlled_tortoise-notthedevs. Additionally, you can monitor your package dependencies using tools like Vulert, which checks for vulnerabilities in your package-lock.json file without requiring code access or installation.
Conclusion
The controlled_tortoise-notthedevs package has been identified as containing malicious code that poses a significant threat to projects using it. It is crucial to take immediate action by updating or removing the package to safeguard your application. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help in monitoring and alerting for such vulnerabilities in real-time.
See every vulnerability recorded for controlled_tortoise-notthedevs →
FAQ
It is an npm package that has been compromised to include malicious code aimed at manipulating the npm registry.
The malicious code can alter your package.json file, potentially leading to security vulnerabilities and dependency issues.
Yes, you can use Vulert's playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability.
If no patched version is available, it is advisable to remove the package from your project to mitigate risks.
Regularly monitor your dependencies using tools like Vulert and keep your packages updated to the latest secure versions.
