Malicious Code Injection in tealoveness38 Package: A Threat to npm Users
Summary
MAL-2025-168765: Malicious code in tealoveness38 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The tealoveness38 package is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign that has infiltrated the npm ecosystem. This package is designed to automate the generation and publication of derivative packages, which can mislead developers and inflate reputation scores for token rewards. Its functionality is primarily centered around creating and publishing random packages, which can lead to significant issues in the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the tealoveness38 package stems from its malicious code that modifies the package.json file. This code removes private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names, primarily themed around Indonesian culture. The malicious payload continuously republishes these variants, polluting the npm registry and potentially compromising the integrity of other packages. This behavior can lead to a loss of trust in the npm ecosystem and may expose developers to further security risks.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall tealoveness38If it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary workaround, avoid using the tealoveness38 package and any packages that depend on it. Regularly monitor your dependencies for any updates or patches that may address this vulnerability.
Conclusion
The tealoveness38 package poses a significant threat to the npm ecosystem due to its malicious code that modifies package metadata and repackages itself. It is crucial for developers to remove this package from their projects and monitor their dependencies for vulnerabilities. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the security of your applications.
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FAQ
Tealoveness38 is an npm package that is part of a token reward campaign, designed to automatically generate and publish derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry, potentially compromising the integrity of your project's dependencies and exposing you to security risks.
You should uninstall the package immediately using 'npm uninstall tealoveness38' and check your package-lock.json for any references to it.
Yes, you can use Vulert to monitor and alert in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities in your software. It requires only the package-lock.json file.
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