Malicious Code Injection in gkvmdu-devapptea: A Threat to npm Ecosystem
Summary
MAL-2025-103255: Malicious code in gkvmdu-devapptea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
gkvmdu-devapptea is an npm package that is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate token rewards through various automated scripts. However, it has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises the integrity of the npm registry by generating and publishing derivative packages with altered metadata.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in gkvmdu-devapptea arises from malicious code that modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior is intended to inflate developer reputation scores for the tea protocol token rewards. The continuous republishing of these variants pollutes the npm registry, potentially leading to security risks for users who inadvertently install these compromised packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall gkvmdu-devappteaIf 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 gkvmdu-devapptea package altogether. If you have already installed it, consider using a package lock file to prevent the installation of compromised versions. You can also monitor your project for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert, which analyzes your package-lock.json file for potential threats.
Conclusion
The gkvmdu-devapptea package poses a significant threat to the npm ecosystem due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and floods the registry with compromised versions. It is crucial for developers to uninstall this package and monitor their projects for vulnerabilities to maintain security.
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FAQ
gkvmdu-devapptea is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to automate the generation and publication of packages.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file, potentially leading to the installation of compromised packages and polluting the npm registry.
You should uninstall the package immediately using npm uninstall gkvmdu-devapptea and check for any dependencies that may be affected.
Yes, you can use Vulert to monitor your project for open-source vulnerabilities by analyzing your package-lock.json file without requiring code access or installation.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without signing up.
