Malicious Code Injection in tsbcyy-devapptea: A Threat to npm Ecosystem
Summary
MAL-2025-109858: Malicious code in tsbcyy-devapptea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The package tsbcyy-devapptea 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. This behavior not only compromises the integrity of the npm registry but also poses a risk to developers who may unknowingly use these tainted packages.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the malicious design of the tsbcyy-devapptea package, which includes scripts that modify the package.json file to remove private flags and change version numbers. It generates random package names, often themed around Indonesian culture, and continuously republishes these variants to pollute the npm registry. This can lead to developers inadvertently using compromised packages, which may contain harmful code or lead to security breaches.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall tsbcyy-devappteaIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a temporary measure, you can avoid using the tsbcyy-devapptea package and any packages that depend on it. Additionally, consider using tools like Vulert to monitor your project for vulnerabilities. You can check if your application is affected by this vulnerability using the Vulert playground at https://vulert.com/scanner without any signup.
Conclusion
The tsbcyy-devapptea package poses a significant threat to the npm ecosystem due to its malicious design aimed at inflating developer reputation scores. It is essential for developers to be vigilant about the packages they use and to monitor their projects for vulnerabilities. Removing this package and utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the integrity of your software.
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FAQ
tsbcyy-devapptea is an npm package that is part of a malicious campaign aimed at inflating developer reputation scores through the automatic generation of derivative packages.
Using the tsbcyy-devapptea package can lead to security risks, including the potential execution of malicious code and the pollution of your project's dependency tree.
You should immediately remove the tsbcyy-devapptea package from your project and check for any dependencies that may have been affected.
You can use tools like Vulert, which monitors your project in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities using just the package-lock.json file.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check for vulnerabilities in your application without any signup.
