Malicious Code Injection in mooney-validator-catalyst: A Threat to npm Users
Summary
MAL-2025-105967: Malicious code in mooney-validator-catalyst (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The mooney-validator-catalyst package is part of the npm ecosystem, designed to facilitate validation processes within applications. However, it has been identified as part of a malicious campaign that floods the npm registry with harmful packages. This vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate package metadata and publish harmful variants, posing significant risks to developers and users relying on this package.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in mooney-validator-catalyst originates from its association with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which employs malicious scripts to alter package.json files. These scripts remove private flags, change version numbers, and generate random package names, leading to the continuous republishing of harmful variants. This not only inflates developer reputation scores but also pollutes the npm registry, making it difficult for users to identify legitimate packages. The ramifications include potential data breaches, unauthorized access, and the spread of malicious code across applications that depend on this package.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall mooney-validator-catalystIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary workaround, consider removing the mooney-validator-catalyst package from your project until a secure version is released. You can do this by executing: npm uninstall mooney-validator-catalyst. Additionally, monitor your package-lock.json file for any unauthorized changes.
Conclusion
The mooney-validator-catalyst package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code injection vulnerability. It is crucial for developers to take immediate action by updating or removing the package to protect their applications. Utilizing tools like Vulert can aid in monitoring for such vulnerabilities effectively.
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FAQ
mooney-validator-catalyst is an npm package intended for validation processes in applications, but it has been compromised by malicious actors.
The vulnerability can lead to unauthorized modifications in your application's dependencies, potentially introducing malicious code that can compromise security.
You should immediately update or uninstall the mooney-validator-catalyst package to mitigate the risk of exploitation.
You can use tools like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json for vulnerabilities in real-time without requiring code access or installation.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without any signup.
