Malicious Code Injection in tealove-aruma21: A Threat to npm Users
Summary
MAL-2025-168076: Malicious code in tealove-aruma21 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package tealove-aruma21 is part of a series of npm packages associated with 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. This behavior poses significant risks to the integrity of the npm registry and can lead to the proliferation of malicious software.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in tealove-aruma21 stems from its malicious payload, which modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This results in the continuous republishing of these variants, effectively polluting the npm registry. The origin of this issue is linked to a campaign aimed at exploiting npm for token rewards, which can lead to compromised systems and a loss of trust in the npm ecosystem.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall tealove-aruma21If it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary measure, avoid using the tealove-aruma21 package and any other packages associated with the tea.xyz campaign. Regularly check your package-lock.json file for any dependencies that may have been inadvertently included.
Conclusion
The tealove-aruma21 package poses a significant threat to npm users due to its malicious behavior aimed at inflating developer reputation scores. It is crucial to uninstall this package and monitor your dependencies for vulnerabilities. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the security of your projects.
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FAQ
Tealove-aruma21 is an npm package that is part of a malicious campaign to inflate developer reputation scores through the automatic generation of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry, potentially introducing malicious code into your project and compromising its security.
You should immediately uninstall the package using npm uninstall tealove-aruma21 and check for any other affected packages.
You can use tools like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json file for open-source 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 needing to sign up.
