Malicious Code Injection in furious_bee_z3n: Exploiting npm for Token Rewards
Summary
MAL-2025-94640: Malicious code in furious_bee_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package furious_bee_z3n is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This campaign has been known to flood the npm registry with packages that contain malicious scripts. These scripts are designed to manipulate package metadata and inflate developer reputation scores through the automatic generation and publication of derivative packages.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in furious_bee_z3n stems from its inclusion in a malicious campaign that modifies package.json files to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior leads to the pollution of the npm registry and can compromise the integrity of the software supply chain. The malicious payload is executed through scripts such as auto.js and autopublish.js, which are designed to automate the publication of these compromised packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall furious_bee_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 prevent the installation of the malicious package by using npm's package-lock.json to monitor your dependencies. Ensure that your project does not include furious_bee_z3n in its dependencies.
Conclusion
The furious_bee_z3n package is part of a malicious campaign that poses significant risks to npm users. It is crucial to remove this package from your projects and monitor your dependencies for vulnerabilities. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the security of your software supply chain.
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FAQ
furious_bee_z3n is an npm package that is part of a malicious campaign designed to manipulate npm registry data for token rewards.
This vulnerability can compromise the integrity of your project by introducing malicious code that alters package metadata and can lead to further exploitation.
You should uninstall the package immediately using 'npm uninstall furious_bee_z3n' and audit your project for other potential vulnerabilities.
You can use tools like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time without requiring code access or installation.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without any signup.
