Malicious Code Injection in democratic_trout_z3n Package
Summary
MAL-2025-101341: Malicious code in democratic_trout_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The democratic_trout_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 manipulate package metadata.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the inclusion of malicious code within the democratic_trout_z3n package. This code modifies the package.json file by removing private flags, altering version numbers, and generating random package names. The malicious payload continuously republishes these variants, leading to pollution of the npm registry and potential security risks for developers using these packages. The impact of this vulnerability includes the risk of unintentional exposure of sensitive information and the degradation of the npm ecosystem's integrity.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall democratic_trout_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 avoid using the democratic_trout_z3n package altogether and look for alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks.
Conclusion
The democratic_trout_z3n package has been identified as containing malicious code that poses significant risks to developers and the npm ecosystem. It is crucial to remove this package and monitor for updates or alternatives to ensure the security of your projects.
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FAQ
The democratic_trout_z3n package is an npm package involved in the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to generate and publish derivative packages.
The malicious code modifies your package.json, potentially exposing sensitive information and polluting the npm registry with unwanted packages.
You should uninstall the democratic_trout_z3n package immediately and check for any alternative packages that are safe to use.
Yes, you can use tools like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time without requiring installation.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without any signup.
