Malicious Code Injection in literary_ant-apptea: npm Package Vulnerability
Summary
MAL-2025-105255: Malicious code in literary_ant-apptea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The literary_ant-apptea package is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign that has been flooding the npm ecosystem. This package is designed to facilitate token rewards through various automated scripts. However, it has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises its integrity and the npm registry.
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 inflate developer reputation scores for the tea protocol token rewards. The continuous republishing of these variants pollutes the npm registry, potentially leading to security risks for users who unknowingly install these compromised packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall literary_ant-appteaIf 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 literary_ant-apptea package and consider using alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks. Additionally, regularly audit your npm packages for vulnerabilities using tools like npm audit.
Conclusion
The literary_ant-apptea package has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises the npm registry and can affect projects using it. It is crucial to uninstall this package and monitor your dependencies for vulnerabilities to maintain the security of your application.
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FAQ
literary_ant-apptea is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to automate the generation and publication of derivative packages.
The malicious code can compromise your project's integrity, lead to the installation of unwanted packages, and potentially expose your application to further security risks.
You should uninstall the literary_ant-apptea package immediately and check for any dependencies that may be affected.
Yes, tools like Vulert can monitor your package-lock.json file to alert you in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without any signup.
