Malicious Code Vulnerability in sporting_donkey_z3n Package
Summary
MAL-2025-98944: Malicious code in sporting_donkey_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The sporting_donkey_z3n package is part of the npm ecosystem, which is widely used for JavaScript development. This package has been identified as part of a malicious campaign that floods the npm registry with derivative packages. These packages are designed to inflate developer reputation scores through automated publishing scripts, which can lead to significant pollution of the npm registry and potential security risks for developers using these packages.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the malicious code embedded in the sporting_donkey_z3n package. This code modifies the package.json file by removing private flags, altering version numbers, and generating random package names. The primary risk is that it allows unauthorized access to sensitive information and can lead to the proliferation of malicious packages in the npm registry, affecting developers and their applications.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall sporting_donkey_z3nIf 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 avoid using the sporting_donkey_z3n package and instead look for alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks. Additionally, you can use the following command to uninstall the package: npm uninstall sporting_donkey_z3n.
Conclusion
The sporting_donkey_z3n package poses a significant security risk due to its malicious code that modifies package metadata and proliferates unauthorized packages. It is crucial to remove this package from your projects and monitor your dependencies for vulnerabilities to maintain application security.
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FAQ
sporting_donkey_z3n is an npm package that has been identified as part of a malicious campaign to inflate developer reputation scores by flooding the npm registry with derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information and the proliferation of malicious packages, potentially compromising the security of your application.
You should immediately uninstall the sporting_donkey_z3n package and monitor your application for any unusual behavior.
Yes, you can use tools like Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in your software using just package-lock.json.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
