Malicious Code Injection in inal-poke5: A Threat to npm Users
Summary
MAL-2025-156437: Malicious code in inal-poke5 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package 'inal-poke5' is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This campaign has been known to flood the npm registry with packages that contain scripts designed to manipulate package metadata for malicious purposes. The primary function of these packages is to inflate developer reputation scores by automatically generating and publishing derivative packages with randomized names.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in 'inal-poke5' 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 behavior not only compromises the integrity of the npm registry but also poses a risk to developers who may unknowingly install these malicious packages, leading to potential security breaches and reputation damage.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall inal-poke5If 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 'inal-poke5' and any other packages associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. Regularly audit your package.json and package-lock.json files for any suspicious entries.
Conclusion
The 'inal-poke5' package poses a significant threat to npm users due to its malicious behavior of modifying package metadata and inflating developer reputation scores. It is crucial to remove this package and regularly audit your dependencies to maintain the security and integrity of your projects.
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FAQ
'inal-poke5' is an npm package that is part of a malicious campaign aimed at inflating developer reputation scores through the automatic generation of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the installation of malicious code that modifies your project's metadata, potentially exposing your project to security risks and damaging your reputation.
You can use Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time. Visit the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected without needing to sign up.
If you have installed 'inal-poke5', you should uninstall it immediately using the command 'npm uninstall inal-poke5' and review your project for any other potentially malicious packages.
There are no patches available for 'inal-poke5' as it is a malicious package. The best course of action is to remove it from your project.
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