Malicious Code Injection in kentung-29 Package: A Threat to npm Users
Summary
MAL-2025-157509: Malicious code in kentung-29 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The kentung-29 package is part of the npm ecosystem, which is widely used for JavaScript package management. This package is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been known to flood the npm registry with malicious packages. These packages often contain scripts designed to manipulate package metadata and inflate developer reputation scores, posing a significant risk to users and the integrity of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the kentung-29 package stems from its malicious code that modifies the package.json file by removing private flags and changing version numbers. It generates random package names, primarily themed around Indonesian culture, and continuously republishes these variants to pollute the npm registry. This behavior can lead to reputation damage for developers and compromise the security of applications relying on these packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall kentung-29If 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 kentung-29 package and replace it with a similar, trusted package. Always verify the integrity of packages before including them in your project.
Conclusion
The kentung-29 package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and floods the npm registry with harmful variants. It is essential to remove this package from your projects and monitor your dependencies for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert.
See every vulnerability recorded for kentung-29 →
FAQ
The kentung-29 package is an npm package associated with a token reward campaign that has been identified as malicious due to its harmful scripts.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file, potentially compromising your project's integrity and security by republishing altered versions of the package.
You should immediately uninstall the kentung-29 package using 'npm uninstall kentung-29' and review your project's dependencies for any other malicious packages.
You can use tools like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json file for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time, alerting you to any issues.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without needing to sign up.
