Malicious Code Injection in tealove-aruma17: A Threat to npm Ecosystem
Summary
MAL-2025-168071: Malicious code in tealove-aruma17 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package tealove-aruma17 is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been associated with a surge of malicious packages on the npm registry. This package is designed to automate the generation and publication of derivative packages, often with randomized names, to manipulate developer reputation scores for token rewards. Its functionality is primarily focused on publishing, but it has been compromised to include harmful scripts.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in tealove-aruma17 stems from its malicious payload that 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, which pollutes the npm registry and can potentially compromise other packages by creating confusion and undermining trust in the ecosystem. The origin of this vulnerability is linked to the broader trend of malicious packages flooding npm, specifically targeting the tea protocol token rewards.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall tealove-aruma17If it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary workaround, consider removing the tealove-aruma17 package from your project until a secure version is released. You can do this by executing: npm uninstall tealove-aruma17. Additionally, monitor your package-lock.json file for any unexpected changes.
Conclusion
The tealove-aruma17 package poses a significant threat due to its malicious code that modifies package configurations and repopulates the npm registry with harmful variants. It is crucial to take immediate action by updating or removing the package and utilizing tools like Vulert to monitor for vulnerabilities in your project.
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FAQ
tealove-aruma17 is an npm package that is part of a token reward campaign but has been identified as malicious due to its harmful scripts.
This vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry and may compromise the integrity of your project by introducing unwanted packages.
You should uninstall the package immediately and monitor your project for any changes in the package-lock.json file.
Yes, you can use Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time without requiring code access. You can check your application using the Vulert playground.
Regularly update your dependencies, use tools like Vulert to monitor vulnerabilities, and review the packages you include in your project for any known issues.
