Malicious Code Injection in teagood-cuekin54: A Threat to npm Users
Summary
MAL-2025-166821: Malicious code in teagood-cuekin54 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
teagood-cuekin54 is an npm package that is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate the distribution of token rewards through various npm packages. However, it has been identified as malicious, containing scripts that automatically generate and publish derivative packages with randomized names, aimed at inflating developer reputation scores for the tea protocol.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in teagood-cuekin54 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 leads to the continuous republishing of variants, polluting the npm registry and potentially compromising the integrity of other packages. The malicious scripts included in the package (auto.js, autopublish.js, etc.) are specifically designed to automate this harmful process.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall teagood-cuekin54If 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 affected package and monitor your project for any signs of malicious behavior. Additionally, consider using tools like Vulert to monitor your package-lock.json for vulnerabilities in real-time. You can access Vulert's playground at https://vulert.com/scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
Conclusion
The discovery of malicious code in the teagood-cuekin54 package highlights the importance of vigilance when managing npm packages. By understanding the nature of this vulnerability and taking proactive steps to secure your projects, you can mitigate risks associated with malicious packages.
See every vulnerability recorded for teagood-cuekin54 →
FAQ
teagood-cuekin54 is an npm package linked to the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been identified as containing malicious code.
The malicious code modifies package.json files, removes private flags, and generates random package names, leading to the pollution of the npm registry.
You can use tools like Vulert to monitor your package-lock.json for vulnerabilities and check if your application is affected.
You should uninstall the package immediately using npm uninstall teagood-cuekin54 and check for any other affected packages.
Regularly update your dependencies, monitor your projects with tools like Vulert, and review the packages you install for any known vulnerabilities.
