Malicious Code Injection in tealove-coki28: A Threat to npm Ecosystem
Summary
MAL-2025-168184: Malicious code in tealove-coki28 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package tealove-coki28 is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been associated with a series of malicious npm packages. These packages are designed to inflate developer reputation scores by automatically generating and publishing derivative packages with randomized names. The functionality of tealove-coki28 is compromised due to its malicious payload, which alters package metadata and continuously republishes variants to pollute the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in tealove-coki28 stems from its inclusion in a malicious campaign that modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, changes version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior not only compromises the integrity of the affected package but also contributes to the pollution of the npm registry, potentially affecting other developers and projects relying on npm packages. The malicious scripts (auto.js, autopublish.js, etc.) are designed to automate this process, making it difficult for developers to track and mitigate the impact.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall tealove-coki28If it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a workaround, you can manually remove the tealove-coki28 package from your project by executing the following command: npm uninstall tealove-coki28. Additionally, consider using tools like Vulert to monitor your project for vulnerabilities in real-time.
Conclusion
The tealove-coki28 package poses a significant risk due to its malicious behavior aimed at manipulating the npm ecosystem. It is crucial for developers to be aware of such vulnerabilities and take proactive measures to secure their projects. Regular monitoring and updating of dependencies can help mitigate these risks.
See every vulnerability recorded for tealove-coki28 →
FAQ
Tealove-coki28 is an npm package associated with a malicious campaign aimed at inflating developer reputation scores through automated publishing of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can compromise your project's integrity by introducing malicious code and polluting the npm registry, which may affect other packages you rely on.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
You should uninstall the tealove-coki28 package immediately and monitor your project for any other vulnerabilities.
Yes, Vulert provides a service that uses package-lock.json to monitor and alert in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities in your software.
