Malicious Code Injection in tealove-coki40: A Threat to npm Ecosystem
Summary
MAL-2025-168198: Malicious code in tealove-coki40 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package tealove-coki40 is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been known to flood the npm registry with malicious packages. These packages are designed to inflate developer reputation scores by automatically generating and publishing derivative packages with randomized names. The malicious nature of this package lies in its ability to modify critical files and republish variants, thereby polluting the npm ecosystem.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in tealove-coki40 originates from its design to include autopublish scripts that modify the package.json file by removing private flags and changing version numbers. This allows the package to continuously republish itself and its variants, which can lead to a significant pollution of the npm registry. The malicious payload not only affects the integrity of the npm ecosystem but also poses a risk to developers who may unknowingly use these compromised packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall tealove-coki40If 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 tealove-coki40 package and any other packages associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. Additionally, consider using npm audit to identify and address any vulnerabilities in your project.
Conclusion
The tealove-coki40 package poses a significant threat to the npm ecosystem due to its malicious code designed to manipulate package metadata and republish itself. It is crucial for developers to be vigilant and remove such packages from their projects to maintain the integrity of their applications.
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FAQ
Tealove-coki40 is an npm package that is part of a malicious campaign aimed at inflating developer reputation scores through the automatic generation and publication of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry and may compromise the integrity of your project by introducing malicious code and dependencies.
You should immediately remove the package from your project and check for any other affected packages. Use npm uninstall tealove-coki40 to remove it.
You can use tools like npm audit to scan your project for vulnerabilities. Additionally, consider using Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities in real-time.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
