Malicious Code Injection in Depressed Shrew Z3N Package
Summary
MAL-2025-93992: Malicious code in depressed_shrew_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The 'depressed_shrew_z3n' package is part of the npm ecosystem and is 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 identified as containing malicious scripts that compromise its integrity and the integrity of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the 'depressed_shrew_z3n' package originates from its inclusion in a campaign that floods the npm registry with malicious packages. These packages contain scripts that modify the package.json file to remove private flags, alter version numbers, and generate random package names. This behavior leads to the continuous republishing of variants, polluting the npm registry and potentially compromising other packages and applications that depend on it.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall depressed_shrew_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 'depressed_shrew_z3n' package from your project by executing the command: 'npm uninstall depressed_shrew_z3n'. This will prevent any malicious code from executing until a secure version is available.
Conclusion
The 'depressed_shrew_z3n' package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and floods the npm registry. It is crucial to update or remove this package to protect your application and maintain the integrity of your development environment.
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FAQ
The primary issue is that it contains malicious code that modifies package.json and floods the npm registry with derivative packages.
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Using this package can lead to the pollution of the npm registry, compromising the integrity of your application and potentially affecting other packages that depend on it.
Regularly auditing your dependencies and using tools like Vulert can help identify and mitigate vulnerabilities before they affect your application.
If you cannot update the package, consider removing it from your project as a temporary measure to avoid executing any malicious code.
