Malicious Code Injection in Profound Fish Z3N Package
Summary
MAL-2025-89525: Malicious code in profound_fish_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The profound_fish_z3n package is part of the npm ecosystem, primarily used for various JavaScript applications. It has been identified as part of a token reward campaign that exploits npm's publishing capabilities. This package is designed to generate and publish derivative packages with randomized names, which can inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. The malicious nature of this package poses significant risks to developers and users alike.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the profound_fish_z3n package originates from its association with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package contains scripts that automatically modify the package.json file to remove private flags, alter version numbers, and generate random package names. The continuous republishing of these variants leads to pollution of the npm registry, potentially compromising the integrity of the ecosystem and affecting other developers who rely on npm packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall profound_fish_z3nIf 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 package by using npm's package-lock.json file to monitor dependencies. Ensure that your project does not include profound_fish_z3n in its dependencies. Additionally, consider using Vulert, which can monitor your package-lock.json for vulnerabilities in real-time. You can check if your application is affected by this vulnerability using the Vulert playground at https://vulert.com/scanner without any signup.
Conclusion
The profound_fish_z3n package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code designed to manipulate npm's publishing system. It is crucial for developers to remove this package from their projects and monitor their dependencies for vulnerabilities. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the security of your applications.
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FAQ
The profound_fish_z3n package is an npm package that has been identified as part of a malicious campaign to inflate developer reputation scores through automated publishing.
This vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry, potentially compromising the integrity of your application and affecting other developers relying on npm packages.
You should uninstall the profound_fish_z3n package immediately using the command: npm uninstall profound_fish_z3n.
Currently, there is no patch available for the profound_fish_z3n package. The best course of action is to uninstall the package.
You can use Vulert to monitor your package-lock.json file for vulnerabilities in real-time. Visit Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected.
