Malicious Code Injection in sqpoox-devapptea: A Threat to npm Users
Summary
MAL-2025-109047: Malicious code in sqpoox-devapptea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
sqpoox-devapptea is an npm package that is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign. It is designed to facilitate the distribution of token rewards through various applications. However, this package has been identified as malicious, containing scripts that automatically generate and publish derivative packages with randomized names, which can lead to significant pollution of the npm registry and compromise developer reputation scores.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in sqpoox-devapptea originates from its malicious payload, which 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 fraudulently and can lead to the proliferation of untrustworthy packages in the npm registry, potentially affecting other developers and users who rely on the integrity of npm packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall sqpoox-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 remove the sqpoox-devapptea package from your project by executing the command: 'npm uninstall sqpoox-devapptea'. This will prevent any malicious scripts from executing while you assess the situation.
Conclusion
The sqpoox-devapptea package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and proliferates untrustworthy packages. It is crucial for developers to take immediate action by removing the package and monitoring their projects for vulnerabilities to maintain the integrity of their applications.
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FAQ
sqpoox-devapptea is an npm package involved in the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been identified as containing malicious code.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file and can lead to the creation of untrustworthy packages, potentially compromising your project's integrity.
You should uninstall the package immediately and check for any unauthorized changes in your project files.
Yes, you can use Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time using your package-lock.json file. You can check if your application is affected by this vulnerability using the Vulert playground without any signup.
Regularly update your packages, monitor for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert, and review the security advisories for the packages you use.
