Malicious Code Injection in Giant Mockingbird Apptea Package
Summary
MAL-2025-103120: Malicious code in giant_mockingbird-apptea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The Giant Mockingbird Apptea package is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been known to flood the npm ecosystem with various packages. These packages are designed to automate the generation and publication of derivative packages, often with randomized names, to inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. This behavior raises significant concerns regarding the integrity and reliability of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the malicious code embedded within the Giant Mockingbird Apptea package. This code modifies the package.json file by removing private flags, altering version numbers, and generating random package names, which can lead to the pollution of the npm registry. The continuous republishing of these variants can compromise the security of applications relying on this package, potentially allowing for unauthorized access or exploitation of vulnerabilities in dependent packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall giant_mockingbird-appteaIf 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 Giant Mockingbird Apptea package and look for alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks. Additionally, you can monitor your project for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert, which can alert you in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities based on your package-lock.json file.
Conclusion
The Giant Mockingbird Apptea package poses a significant security risk due to its malicious code that alters package configurations and pollutes the npm registry. It is essential to remove this package from your project and monitor for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert to ensure the security of your applications.
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FAQ
It is a package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, known for generating and publishing derivative packages to inflate developer reputation scores.
The malicious code can compromise the integrity of your application by modifying package configurations and potentially allowing unauthorized access.
Currently, there is no patched version available for the Giant Mockingbird Apptea package.
You can use Vulert to monitor your project for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time by analyzing your package-lock.json file.
You should uninstall the Giant Mockingbird Apptea package immediately and check your project for any lingering references to it.
