Malicious Code Injection in muklis-15: A Threat to npm Packages
Summary
MAL-2025-160798: Malicious code in muklis-15 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package 'muklis-15' is part of a series of npm packages that emerged during the tea.xyz token reward campaign. These packages are designed to manipulate npm's ecosystem by automatically generating and publishing derivative packages with randomized names. This behavior is intended to inflate developer reputation scores for rewards associated with the tea protocol. The malicious nature of these packages poses a significant risk to developers and users relying on npm for package management.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in 'muklis-15' originates from its design to include autopublish scripts that modify the package.json file. These modifications remove private flags, alter version numbers, and generate random package names, leading to the continuous republishing of variants. This behavior not only pollutes the npm registry but also compromises the integrity of the packages, potentially introducing security risks to any project that utilizes them. The malicious payload can affect the reputation of developers and the overall trust in the npm ecosystem.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall muklis-15If 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 'muklis-15' and any other packages associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. Regularly audit your package dependencies using tools like npm audit to identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
Conclusion
The 'muklis-15' package poses a significant threat to the npm ecosystem due to its malicious behavior of modifying package files and republishing variants. It is essential for developers to be vigilant and remove such packages from their projects to maintain security and integrity. Regular audits and monitoring tools like Vulert can help in identifying and mitigating these risks effectively.
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FAQ
'muklis-15' is an npm package that is part of a malicious campaign aimed at inflating developer reputation scores through automated publishing of derivative packages.
The package modifies your project's package.json file, potentially introducing security vulnerabilities and polluting the npm registry with unwanted packages.
You should uninstall 'muklis-15' immediately using the command 'npm uninstall muklis-15' and check for any other affected packages.
You can use tools like npm audit to scan your project for vulnerabilities. Additionally, Vulert can monitor your package-lock.json for real-time alerts on open-source vulnerabilities.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
