Malicious Code Vulnerability in spotty_manatee-silentdev Package
Summary
MAL-2025-109041: Malicious code in spotty_manatee-silentdev (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The spotty_manatee-silentdev package is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate automated publishing of derivative packages, which can inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. However, it has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises its integrity and the security of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the package's malicious payload, which modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior leads to the continuous republishing of variants, polluting the npm registry and potentially affecting other packages and developers. The malicious code is part of a broader scheme to exploit the npm ecosystem for token rewards, making it a significant threat to the integrity of the registry.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall spotty_manatee-silentdevIf 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 spotty_manatee-silentdev package altogether and look for alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks.
Conclusion
The spotty_manatee-silentdev package poses a significant security threat due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and repopulates the npm registry with harmful variants. It is crucial to remove this package from your projects and monitor your dependencies for vulnerabilities.
See every vulnerability recorded for spotty_manatee-silentdev →
FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to automate the publishing of derivative packages.
The malicious code can compromise your project's integrity by modifying package.json, leading to potential security risks and pollution of the npm registry.
You should uninstall the package immediately using npm uninstall spotty_manatee-silentdev and check your project for any other affected dependencies.
No patches are available for the spotty_manatee-silentdev package as it is recommended to remove it entirely from your project.
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 also check your application using the Vulert playground without any signup.
