Malicious Code Detected in Protective Beige Falcon Package - npm Vulnerability
Summary
MAL-2025-138949: Malicious code in protective-beige-falcon (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The 'protective-beige-falcon' package 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, it has been identified as containing malicious code that alters package metadata and publishes harmful variants.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from a malicious payload embedded within the 'protective-beige-falcon' package. This payload modifies the package.json file by removing private flags, changing version numbers, and generating random package names. The intent is to continuously republish these variants, polluting the npm registry and potentially compromising the integrity of other packages. This behavior can lead to security risks for developers who unknowingly integrate these malicious packages into their projects.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall protective-beige-falconIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary measure, avoid using the 'protective-beige-falcon' package and consider using alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks. Additionally, regularly audit your package dependencies using tools like npm audit.
Conclusion
The 'protective-beige-falcon' package has been identified as containing malicious code that poses a significant risk to developers. It is crucial to remove this package from your projects and monitor your dependencies for vulnerabilities. Utilizing tools like Vulert can aid in maintaining the security of your applications.
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FAQ
It is an npm package involved in the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to generate and publish derivative packages.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file and can lead to the pollution of the npm registry, potentially compromising your project's security.
You should uninstall the 'protective-beige-falcon' package immediately using 'npm uninstall protective-beige-falcon'.
Yes, tools like Vulert can monitor your project for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time using just your package-lock.json file.
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