Malicious Code Injection in Hushed Monkey Z3N: npm Package Vulnerability
Summary
MAL-2025-94891: Malicious code in hushed_monkey_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
Hushed Monkey Z3N is an npm package that is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate token rewards for developers by generating and publishing derivative packages. However, it has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises its integrity and the npm ecosystem.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the package's design to include autopublish scripts that automatically generate and publish derivative packages with randomized names. This malicious behavior modifies the package.json file by removing private flags, altering version numbers, and creating random package names. The continuous republishing of these variants leads to pollution of the npm registry, potentially harming developers' reputations and the integrity of the npm ecosystem.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall hushed_monkey_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 this malicious package by using npm's package-lock.json to lock your dependencies. Additionally, you can monitor your project for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert, which analyzes your package-lock.json for any known vulnerabilities.
Conclusion
The hushed_monkey_z3n npm package has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises the integrity of the npm ecosystem. It is crucial for developers to remove this package and monitor their dependencies for vulnerabilities to maintain the security of their applications.
See every vulnerability recorded for hushed_monkey_z3n →
FAQ
The malicious code can lead to the pollution of the npm registry, affecting the reputation of developers and potentially introducing security risks into applications that depend on this package.
You can use Vulert's playground at Vulert Scanner to analyze your package-lock.json file for vulnerabilities without needing to sign up.
It is advisable to remove the hushed_monkey_z3n package from your project immediately and monitor for any updates or patches that may be released.
Yes, tools like Vulert can help you monitor and alert in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities in your software by analyzing your package-lock.json.
Using compromised packages can lead to security breaches, data leaks, and damage to your application's reputation, as well as potential legal implications.
