Malicious Code Injection in hoxljg-devapptea: A Threat to npm Ecosystem
Summary
MAL-2025-103818: Malicious code in hoxljg-devapptea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package hoxljg-devapptea is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been associated with a surge of malicious packages flooding the npm registry. These packages are designed to inflate developer reputation scores through automated scripts that publish numerous derivative packages with randomized names. This behavior not only clutters the npm registry but also poses a risk to developers who may unknowingly use these compromised packages.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in hoxljg-devapptea stems from its inclusion in a malicious campaign that modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This allows the package to continuously republish variants, polluting the npm registry and potentially compromising the integrity of applications that depend on it. The malicious payload can lead to unauthorized access and manipulation of code, making it a significant threat to developers and their projects.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall hoxljg-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 remove the hoxljg-devapptea package from your project by executing the command: npm uninstall hoxljg-devapptea. This will prevent any malicious code from executing while you assess the situation and look for a secure alternative.
Conclusion
The hoxljg-devapptea package poses a significant threat due to its malicious code designed to manipulate the npm registry. Developers are urged to take immediate action by updating or removing the package to safeguard their projects from potential vulnerabilities.
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FAQ
hoxljg-devapptea is an npm package that is part of a malicious campaign aimed at inflating developer reputation scores through automated publishing of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to unauthorized modifications in your project, potentially exposing it to security risks and instability due to the inclusion of malicious code.
You can use Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in your software. By utilizing the Vulert playground, you can check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without any signup.
If immediate updates are not feasible, consider removing the package from your project as a temporary measure to mitigate risks.
Detailed information about this vulnerability can be found in the npm registry and through security advisories related to the hoxljg-devapptea package.
