Malicious Code Injection in representative_crayfish_z3n Package
Summary
MAL-2025-107908: Malicious code in representative_crayfish_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
Check if this vulnerability affects your application
Upload a manifest or SBOM and we'll show whether you're affected, plus every other risky package in the same scan.
No signup required · Results in about 60 seconds
Background
The representative_crayfish_z3n 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, often with randomized names, to inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. Its functionality is compromised by malicious scripts that alter package metadata and republish variants to the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability stems from the presence of malicious code within the representative_crayfish_z3n package, which modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior is intended to pollute the npm registry and can lead to significant security risks, including the potential for unauthorized access to sensitive data and the proliferation of untrusted packages in the ecosystem.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall representative_crayfish_z3nIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
Tip — Not sure whether your app is affected? Vulert can check the versions your app actually runs. Scan free →
Workaround
As a temporary workaround, you can prevent the installation of the representative_crayfish_z3n package by using npm's package-lock.json file to lock your dependencies. Additionally, you can monitor your project for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert, which analyzes your package-lock.json file to alert you of any open-source vulnerabilities in real-time.
Conclusion
The representative_crayfish_z3n package contains malicious code that poses significant security risks to projects using it. Immediate action is required to remove the package and monitor for any vulnerabilities. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the security of your open-source dependencies.
See every vulnerability recorded for representative_crayfish_z3n →
FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to generate and publish derivative packages.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file, potentially exposing your project to security risks and polluting the npm registry.
You should uninstall the representative_crayfish_z3n package immediately and check for any dependencies that may be affected.
You can use tools like Vulert, which allows you to monitor your package-lock.json file for vulnerabilities without requiring code access or installation.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without signing up.
