Malicious Code Vulnerability in labour_anglerfish_z3n Package
Summary
MAL-2025-104962: Malicious code in labour_anglerfish_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The labour_anglerfish_z3n package is part of the npm ecosystem and has been identified as part of a malicious campaign targeting developers involved with the tea.xyz token reward initiative. This package is designed to automate the generation and publication of derivative packages, which can mislead developers and inflate reputation scores for token rewards. Its functionality revolves around creating random package names and publishing them to the npm registry, which can lead to significant pollution of the registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability stems from the malicious code embedded within the labour_anglerfish_z3n package. This code modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names, primarily themed around Indonesian culture. The primary risk is that it can lead to the proliferation of untrustworthy packages in the npm registry, potentially compromising the integrity of the ecosystem and affecting developers who rely on npm for legitimate packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall labour_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 avoid using the labour_anglerfish_z3n package and instead look for alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks. Additionally, you can use tools like Vulert to monitor your project for vulnerabilities. For example, you can check your application against this vulnerability using the Vulert playground at https://vulert.com/scanner without any signup.
Conclusion
The labour_anglerfish_z3n package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and floods the npm registry with untrustworthy packages. It is crucial for developers to remove this package from their projects and monitor for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert to ensure the integrity of their applications.
See every vulnerability recorded for labour_anglerfish_z3n →
FAQ
It is an npm package that has been identified as part of a malicious campaign aimed at inflating developer reputation scores through the automatic generation of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the proliferation of untrustworthy packages in the npm registry, which may compromise the integrity of your project and introduce security risks.
You should uninstall the labour_anglerfish_z3n package immediately and check your package-lock.json file for any lingering references to it.
Yes, you can use Vulert, which monitors and alerts in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities using just your package-lock.json file.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check your application for vulnerabilities without requiring any signup.
