Malicious Code Vulnerability in encouraging_dingo-smiletea Package
Summary
MAL-2025-102086: Malicious code in encouraging_dingo-smiletea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The encouraging_dingo-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, which can inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. However, it has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises its integrity and the integrity of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the package's malicious code, which modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior leads to the automatic generation and republishing of numerous derivative packages, effectively polluting the npm registry. The ramifications include potential security risks for developers using the package, as well as the degradation of the npm ecosystem's reliability.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall encouraging_dingo-smileteaIf 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 encouraging_dingo-smiletea package from your project by executing the command: 'npm uninstall encouraging_dingo-smiletea'. This will prevent any malicious code from executing until a secure version is available.
Conclusion
The encouraging_dingo-smiletea package has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises its integrity and the npm ecosystem. It is crucial for developers to take immediate action by updating or uninstalling the package to mitigate potential security risks.
See every vulnerability recorded for encouraging_dingo-smiletea →
FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to generate and publish derivative packages.
The vulnerability allows the package to modify package.json files, remove private flags, and republish numerous derivative packages, polluting the npm registry.
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 temporary measure, you can uninstall the encouraging_dingo-smiletea package to prevent any malicious code from executing.
You can reach out to Amazon Inspector at actran@amazon.com for more details regarding this vulnerability.
