Malicious Code Injection in ita-36 Package: npm Vulnerability Overview
Summary
MAL-2025-156952: Malicious code in ita-36 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The ita-36 package is part of the npm ecosystem, which is widely used for JavaScript package management. This package has been identified as part of a malicious campaign that aims to exploit npm's publishing system. It is designed to generate and publish derivative packages with randomized names, thereby inflating developer reputation scores for token rewards in the tea.xyz protocol. The package's functionality is compromised due to its malicious intent, posing a significant risk to developers and users relying on npm packages.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the ita-36 package originates from its association with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. It contains scripts that automatically modify the package.json file by removing private flags, changing version numbers, and generating random package names. This behavior leads to the continuous republishing of variants, which pollutes the npm registry and can potentially compromise the integrity of the packages within the ecosystem. The malicious payload can affect developers' projects by introducing unwanted dependencies and altering package management.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall ita-36If it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary measure, avoid using the ita-36 package and monitor your project for any dependencies that may have been affected. You can also use the following command to check for vulnerabilities in your project: npm audit.
Conclusion
The ita-36 package poses a significant security risk due to its malicious code designed to exploit the npm ecosystem. It is crucial for developers to remove this package from their projects and monitor for any vulnerabilities. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the security of your applications.
See every vulnerability recorded for ita-36 →
FAQ
The ita-36 package is an npm package that has been identified as part of a malicious campaign to exploit the npm ecosystem.
The vulnerability can introduce unwanted dependencies and alter package management, potentially compromising your project's integrity.
You should uninstall the ita-36 package immediately using the command npm uninstall ita-36.
You can use tools like Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time using your package-lock.json file.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check for vulnerabilities in your application without requiring any signup.
