Malicious Code Injection in Substantial Hyena Appteadev Package
Summary
MAL-2025-109240: Malicious code in substantial_hyena-appteadev (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The substantial_hyena-appteadev package is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate the automatic generation and publication of derivative packages, which can inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. However, it has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises the integrity of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the package's design to include autopublish scripts that modify the package.json file. These modifications remove private flags, alter version numbers, and generate random package names, leading to the continuous republishing of variants. This behavior not only pollutes the npm registry but also poses a risk to developers relying on the integrity of packages for their applications. The malicious payload can potentially lead to unauthorized access or manipulation of projects that depend on this package.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall substantial_hyena-appteadevIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary workaround, avoid using the substantial_hyena-appteadev package and monitor your dependencies for any unauthorized changes. Regularly audit your package-lock.json file to ensure no malicious packages have been introduced.
Conclusion
The substantial_hyena-appteadev package contains malicious code that compromises the integrity of the npm registry. It is crucial for developers to remove this package from their projects and monitor their dependencies for any unauthorized changes. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help in maintaining the security of your applications.
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FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to generate and publish derivative packages.
The malicious code can modify your package.json, leading to unauthorized changes and potential security risks.
You should uninstall the package immediately and audit your project for any unauthorized changes.
Yes, you can use Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected without any signup.
