Critical Malicious Code Vulnerability in react-native-websocket Package
Summary
MAL-2025-191006: Malicious code in react-native-websocket (npm). Affects react-native-websocket versions 1.0.3 – 1.0.4. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The react-native-websocket package is a popular library used in React Native applications to facilitate WebSocket communication. It allows developers to easily implement real-time features in their applications. However, recent findings have revealed that this package contains malicious code, posing significant security risks to users and their systems.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability stems from the presence of embedded malicious code within the react-native-websocket package. This code can compromise any computer that has the package installed, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive information such as secrets and keys. The malicious nature of the code has been confirmed by multiple sources, including Amazon Inspector and GHSA malware reports, indicating that systems running this package should be considered fully compromised.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall react-native-websocketIf 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 may consider using an alternative package for WebSocket communication in your React Native applications until the issue with react-native-websocket is resolved. Some alternatives include 'socket.io-client' or 'ws'.
Conclusion
The discovery of malicious code in the react-native-websocket package poses a serious threat to users and their systems. Immediate action is required to uninstall the package and secure sensitive information. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help in monitoring for such vulnerabilities in the future.
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FAQ
You should immediately uninstall the package and rotate any secrets or keys stored on the affected system.
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Failing to address this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, system compromise, and potential data breaches.
Currently, there is no patched version available. It is recommended to remove the package until a fix is released.
You can use tools like Vulert to monitor your package-lock.json for vulnerabilities in real-time.
