Malicious Code Injection in individual_anglerfish_z3n Package
Summary
MAL-2025-95002: Malicious code in individual_anglerfish_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The individual_anglerfish_z3n package is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate the automatic generation and publication of derivative packages, which are intended to inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. However, it has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises its integrity and the security of applications that depend on it.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the package's malicious payload, which modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior is intended to pollute the npm registry and can lead to significant security risks, including unauthorized access and manipulation of dependent applications. The package is part of a broader scheme that exploits the npm ecosystem for malicious purposes.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall individual_anglerfish_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 monitor dependencies. Ensure that your project does not include individual_anglerfish_z3n in its dependencies.
Conclusion
The individual_anglerfish_z3n package poses a significant security risk due to its malicious code that alters package configurations and pollutes the npm registry. It is crucial to remove this package from your projects and monitor for any unauthorized changes. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the security of your applications.
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FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to generate and publish derivative packages.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file and can lead to unauthorized access and manipulation of your application.
You should uninstall the package immediately using 'npm uninstall individual_anglerfish_z3n' and check your project for any unauthorized changes.
Yes, Vulert can monitor and alert you in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities in your software without requiring access to the code.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without any signup.
