Malicious Code Injection in soxfiv-devapptea: A Threat to npm Packages
Summary
MAL-2025-108957: Malicious code in soxfiv-devapptea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package 'soxfiv-devapptea' is part of a campaign associated with the tea.xyz token reward system, which has been known to flood the npm registry with malicious packages. This package is designed to automate the generation and publication of derivative packages, potentially compromising the integrity of the npm ecosystem. It modifies essential files like package.json, impacting the security and functionality of applications relying on it.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in 'soxfiv-devapptea' originates from its malicious design, which includes scripts that automatically publish altered versions of the package with randomized names. This behavior not only inflates developer reputation scores for token rewards but also removes private flags from package.json, changes version numbers, and pollutes the npm registry with potentially harmful packages. The ramifications include the risk of unintentional use of compromised packages, leading to security breaches in dependent applications.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall soxfiv-devappteaIf 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 this malicious 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 to alert you of any open-source vulnerabilities in real-time.
Conclusion
The 'soxfiv-devapptea' package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code and automated publishing behavior. It is essential to remove this package and monitor your dependencies for vulnerabilities to maintain the security of your applications.
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FAQ
'soxfiv-devapptea' is an npm package associated with a token reward campaign that has been identified as malicious due to its automated publishing of compromised packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the inclusion of malicious code in your application, potentially compromising its security and functionality.
You should immediately remove the package from your project and check for any other dependencies that may have been affected.
You can use tools like Vulert, which allows you to monitor your package-lock.json 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 needing to sign up.
