Malicious Code Injection in rita-57: A Threat to npm Ecosystem
Summary
MAL-2025-164930: Malicious code in rita-57 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The rita-57 package is part of the npm ecosystem, primarily used for various JavaScript applications. It is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been known to flood the npm registry with malicious packages. This package, like others in the campaign, is designed to manipulate developer reputation scores through automated publishing of derivative packages.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in rita-57 stems from its malicious code that modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior is intended to inflate developer reputation scores and pollute the npm registry with numerous variants of the package. The origin of this vulnerability is linked to the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which exploits npm's publishing mechanisms.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall rita-57If 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 the rita-57 package by using npm's package-lock.json file to lock your dependencies. Additionally, consider using npm audit to identify and address vulnerabilities in your project.
Conclusion
The rita-57 package poses a significant threat to the npm ecosystem due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and inflates developer reputation scores. It is crucial for developers to remove this package and monitor their dependencies for vulnerabilities to maintain the security of their applications.
See every vulnerability recorded for rita-57 →
FAQ
rita-57 is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been identified as malicious due to its code that manipulates package metadata.
The vulnerability can lead to your project being polluted with numerous malicious package variants, potentially compromising the integrity and security of your application.
You should immediately remove the rita-57 package from your project and check for any other affected packages using npm audit.
Yes, you can use tools like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json file to alert you in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
