Malicious Code Injection in polymeria-butper: A Threat to npm Packages
Summary
MAL-2025-164492: Malicious code in polymeria-butper (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
polymeria-butper is an npm package that is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate the generation and publication of derivative packages, often with randomized names, to inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. Its functionality is compromised by the presence of malicious scripts that manipulate package metadata.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in polymeria-butper originates from its association with a campaign that floods the npm registry with malicious packages. These packages contain scripts that modify the package.json file to remove private flags, alter version numbers, and generate random package names. This behavior leads to the pollution of the npm registry and can potentially compromise the integrity of applications relying on these packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall polymeria-butperIf 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 remove the polymeria-butper package from your project by executing: npm uninstall polymeria-butper. This will prevent the execution of any malicious scripts associated with the package until a fix is applied.
Conclusion
The polymeria-butper package poses a significant security risk due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and floods the npm registry. It is crucial for developers to take immediate action by updating or removing the package and utilizing tools like Vulert to monitor for vulnerabilities.
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FAQ
The vulnerability involves malicious code that modifies package metadata and floods the npm registry with derivative packages.
You can use Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time. Visit Vulert Scanner to check your application without any signup.
Using polymeria-butper can lead to the pollution of the npm registry and may compromise the integrity of your application by introducing untrusted code.
Check the npm registry or the package's repository for any updates or patches that address the vulnerability.
Uninstall the package immediately and monitor your application for any unusual behavior. Consider using Vulert to assess your application's vulnerability status.
