Malicious Code Injection in mattu-mitoip-butada: A Threat to npm Packages
Summary
MAL-2025-160240: Malicious code in mattu-mitoip-butada (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package 'mattu-mitoip-butada' is part of a series of npm packages that emerged during the tea.xyz token reward campaign. These packages are designed to inflate developer reputation scores by automatically generating and publishing derivative packages with randomized names. This behavior compromises the integrity of the npm registry and poses a risk to developers and users relying on these packages.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in 'mattu-mitoip-butada' stems from its malicious code that modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This allows the package to continuously republish variants, polluting the npm registry and potentially leading to security risks for users who unknowingly install these compromised packages. The origin of this vulnerability is linked to the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which aims to exploit npm's publishing mechanisms.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall mattu-mitoip-butadaIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a workaround, you can avoid using the 'mattu-mitoip-butada' package altogether. If you have already installed it, remove it from your project by running: npm uninstall mattu-mitoip-butada. Additionally, consider using a tool like Vulert to monitor your project for vulnerabilities in real-time.
Conclusion
The 'mattu-mitoip-butada' package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and floods the npm registry. It is crucial for developers to remove this package and monitor their projects for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert to ensure the security of their applications.
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FAQ
The main issue is that it contains malicious code that modifies package.json and republish variants, which can lead to security vulnerabilities.
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If you have installed 'mattu-mitoip-butada', you should uninstall it immediately using the command: npm uninstall mattu-mitoip-butada.
Currently, there is no specific patch available for 'mattu-mitoip-butada'. It is best to remove the package until a safe version is released.
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