Malicious Code Injection in nokire-kilua52: A Threat to npm Users
Summary
MAL-2025-162643: Malicious code in nokire-kilua52 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package 'nokire-kilua52' is part of a broader campaign associated with the tea.xyz token reward system, which has been known to flood the npm registry with malicious packages. These packages are designed to manipulate developer reputation scores by automatically generating and publishing derivative packages with randomized names. The malicious nature of this package lies in its ability to alter critical files and continuously republish variants, thereby polluting the npm ecosystem.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in 'nokire-kilua52' stems from its malicious payload that 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 fraudulently and can lead to significant pollution of the npm registry. The origin of this vulnerability is linked to the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which employs scripts to automate the creation and publication of these malicious packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall nokire-kilua52If 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 prevent the installation of this malicious package by using npm's package-lock.json to monitor your dependencies. Ensure that your package-lock.json does not include 'nokire-kilua52'. You can also use the following command to audit your project for vulnerabilities: 'npm audit'.
Conclusion
The 'nokire-kilua52' package poses a significant threat to npm users due to its malicious behavior aimed at inflating developer reputation scores. It is crucial to remove this package and regularly audit your dependencies to maintain the integrity of your projects. Utilizing tools like Vulert can further enhance your security posture by providing real-time monitoring for vulnerabilities.
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FAQ
'nokire-kilua52' is an npm package that has been identified as malicious, designed to manipulate developer reputation scores through automated publishing.
This vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry and may compromise the integrity of your project by introducing unwanted or malicious code.
You should uninstall the package immediately using 'npm uninstall nokire-kilua52' and audit your project for any other vulnerabilities.
Regularly update your dependencies, use tools like npm audit, and consider using Vulert to monitor your project for vulnerabilities in real-time.
Vulert is a tool that monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in your software using just package-lock.json. You can check your application for vulnerabilities without any installation through the Vulert playground.
