Malicious Code Injection in national_grasshopper-smiletea Package
Summary
MAL-2025-106197: Malicious code in national_grasshopper-smiletea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The national_grasshopper-smiletea package is part of a series of npm packages associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. These packages are designed to automate the generation and publication of derivative packages, often with randomized names, to inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. The package's functionality is compromised due to the presence of malicious scripts that manipulate its metadata and behavior.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from malicious code embedded within the national_grasshopper-smiletea package. This code modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names, leading to the continuous republishing of variants that pollute the npm registry. The ramifications include potential security risks for developers who unknowingly use this package, as it can lead to unauthorized access or manipulation of their projects.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall national_grasshopper-smileteaIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary workaround, avoid using the national_grasshopper-smiletea package and consider using alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks.
Conclusion
The national_grasshopper-smiletea package contains malicious code that poses significant risks to developers. It is crucial to remove this package from your projects and monitor for any updates or patches. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the security of your applications.
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FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to automate the generation of derivative packages.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file, potentially leading to unauthorized changes and security vulnerabilities in your project.
You should uninstall the national_grasshopper-smiletea package immediately using the command: npm uninstall national_grasshopper-smiletea.
Yes, Vulert can monitor and alert you in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities in your software using just package-lock.json.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected without any signup.
