Malicious Code Injection in remarkable_starfish_z3n Package
Summary
MAL-2025-96290: Malicious code in remarkable_starfish_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The remarkable_starfish_z3n package is part of the npm ecosystem, which is widely used for JavaScript development. It is designed to facilitate various functionalities within applications. However, this package has been identified as part of a malicious campaign that aims to inflate developer reputation scores through the creation and publication of numerous derivative packages. This vulnerability poses significant risks to developers and users alike, as it can lead to the proliferation of harmful code within the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the package being associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been known to flood npm with malicious packages. These packages contain scripts that automatically generate and publish derivative packages with randomized names, effectively polluting the npm registry. The malicious payload modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and continuously republishes variants, which can compromise the integrity of the npm ecosystem and potentially introduce security risks to applications that depend on this package.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall remarkable_starfish_z3nIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a workaround, you can temporarily avoid using the remarkable_starfish_z3n package and look for alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks. Additionally, consider using tools like Vulert to monitor your project for vulnerabilities. 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 remarkable_starfish_z3n package has been identified as containing malicious code that can compromise the security of applications using it. It is crucial for developers to be vigilant and remove this package from their projects. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help in monitoring for such vulnerabilities in real-time.
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FAQ
It is an npm package used in JavaScript development, but it has been identified as part of a malicious campaign.
The vulnerability can lead to the introduction of malicious code, compromising the security and integrity of your application.
You should uninstall the remarkable_starfish_z3n package immediately and check for alternative packages.
You can use Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time using just your package-lock.json.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check for vulnerabilities without any signup.
