Malicious Code Injection in human_whale-apptea Package
Summary
MAL-2025-103840: Malicious code in human_whale-apptea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The human_whale-apptea package is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been associated with a series of malicious npm packages. These packages are designed to inflate developer reputation scores by automatically generating and publishing derivative packages with randomized names. The malicious behavior of this package poses a significant risk to developers 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 continuous republishing of variants, polluting the npm registry and potentially compromising the security of applications that depend on this package. The malicious payload is designed to exploit the npm ecosystem for token rewards, making it a significant threat.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall human_whale-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 human_whale-apptea package and monitor your dependencies for any malicious activity. Regularly audit your npm packages using npm audit to identify and address vulnerabilities.
Conclusion
The human_whale-apptea package poses a significant security risk due to its malicious code designed to manipulate the npm registry. It is essential to remove this package from your project and monitor your dependencies for any vulnerabilities to maintain the integrity of your application.
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FAQ
The human_whale-apptea package is part of a malicious campaign that aims to inflate developer reputation scores through the automatic generation of derivative npm packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry, potentially compromising the security of your application and affecting its performance.
You should uninstall the human_whale-apptea package immediately and audit your dependencies for any other malicious packages.
You can use tools like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time. You can also check your application using the Vulert playground without any signup.
There is no patch for the human_whale-apptea package as it is recommended to remove it entirely from your project.
