Malicious Code Injection in pitra-11: A Threat to npm Ecosystem
Summary
MAL-2025-164279: Malicious code in pitra-11 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package pitra-11 is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate the automatic generation and publication of derivative packages, which can inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. However, its malicious nature poses significant risks to developers and the integrity of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in pitra-11 originates from its malicious code that modifies the package.json file by removing private flags, altering version numbers, and generating random package names. This behavior leads to the continuous republishing of variants, which pollutes the npm registry and can compromise the security of dependent projects. The malicious payload is designed to exploit the npm ecosystem by flooding it with unwanted packages, potentially leading to confusion and misuse.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall pitra-11If 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 pitra-11 and any packages that depend on it. Regularly audit your package-lock.json file to identify and remove any malicious packages. You can also utilize tools like Vulert to monitor your project for vulnerabilities without needing to access the code directly.
Conclusion
The pitra-11 package poses a significant threat to the npm ecosystem due to its malicious code that modifies project files and floods the registry. It is essential for developers to take immediate action to remove this package and to implement best practices for dependency management to safeguard their projects.
See every vulnerability recorded for pitra-11 →
FAQ
pitra-11 is an npm package that is part of a token reward campaign but has been identified as containing malicious code.
The malicious code modifies your package.json, removes private flags, and floods the npm registry with unwanted packages, potentially compromising your project's integrity.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without any signup.
You should uninstall pitra-11 immediately using the command 'npm uninstall pitra-11' and audit your project for other potential vulnerabilities.
Regularly audit your dependencies, use trusted packages, and utilize tools like Vulert to monitor for vulnerabilities in real-time.
