Malicious Code Injection in Costly Barracuda Z3N Package
Summary
MAL-2025-101028: Malicious code in costly_barracuda_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The 'costly_barracuda_z3n' package is part of the npm ecosystem and appears to be associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate the automatic generation and publication of derivative packages, which can inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. However, it has been compromised to include malicious scripts that alter package metadata.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the inclusion of malicious code within the 'costly_barracuda_z3n' package. This code modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names, leading to the pollution of the npm registry. The ramifications include potential security risks for developers who unknowingly use this package, as it can lead to unauthorized access or manipulation of their projects.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall costly_barracuda_z3nIf 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 'costly_barracuda_z3n' package from your project by executing: npm uninstall costly_barracuda_z3n. This will prevent any malicious code from executing until a secure version is available.
Conclusion
The 'costly_barracuda_z3n' package has been identified as containing malicious code that can compromise the integrity of projects using it. It is crucial to update or remove this package to safeguard your application from potential threats.
See every vulnerability recorded for costly_barracuda_z3n →
FAQ
It 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, which can lead to unauthorized changes in your project and potential security vulnerabilities.
You can use Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time. Visit Vulert Scanner to check your application without needing to sign up.
As a workaround, you can uninstall the 'costly_barracuda_z3n' package to prevent any malicious code from executing.
Detailed information about this vulnerability can be found in the official npm registry or security advisories related to the 'costly_barracuda_z3n' package.
