Malicious Code Injection in suharta-poke52: A Threat to npm Ecosystem
Summary
MAL-2025-166182: Malicious code in suharta-poke52 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
Check if this vulnerability affects your application
Upload a manifest or SBOM and we'll show whether you're affected, plus every other risky package in the same scan.
No signup required · Results in about 60 seconds
Background
The package suharta-poke52 is part of a series of malicious npm packages that emerged during the tea.xyz token reward campaign. These packages are designed to inflate developer reputation scores by automatically generating and publishing derivative packages with randomized names. The malicious nature of suharta-poke52 lies in its ability to modify package.json files, remove private flags, and continuously republish variants, leading to pollution of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in suharta-poke52 originates from its inclusion in a broader campaign that uses autopublish scripts to manipulate package metadata. This results in the removal of private flags from package.json, alteration of version numbers, and the generation of random package names. The continuous republishing of these variants can lead to significant pollution of the npm registry, making it difficult for developers to find legitimate packages and potentially compromising the integrity of the ecosystem.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall suharta-poke52If it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
Tip — Not sure whether your app is affected? Vulert can check the versions your app actually runs. Scan free →
Workaround
As a temporary workaround, you can avoid using the suharta-poke52 package and any other packages that appear to be part of the malicious campaign. Monitor your package-lock.json file for any unauthorized changes and consider using tools like Vulert to track vulnerabilities in your dependencies.
Conclusion
The suharta-poke52 package poses a significant threat to the npm ecosystem due to its malicious behavior of modifying package metadata and republishing variants. It is crucial for developers to remove this package and monitor their dependencies for vulnerabilities to maintain the integrity of their projects.
See every vulnerability recorded for suharta-poke52 →
FAQ
suharta-poke52 is an npm package that has been identified as part of a malicious campaign aimed at inflating developer reputation scores through the creation of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry, making it harder to find legitimate packages and potentially compromising the security of your project.
You should uninstall the package immediately using the command: npm uninstall suharta-poke52 and review your other dependencies for similar vulnerabilities.
You can use tools like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json file for vulnerabilities in real-time 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 any signup.
