Malicious Code Injection in visible_leech-smiletea Package
Summary
MAL-2025-110571: Malicious code in visible_leech-smiletea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The visible_leech-smiletea package is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign that has infiltrated the npm ecosystem. This package is designed to facilitate token rewards through various scripts that automate the generation and publication of derivative packages. However, it has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises the integrity of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the package's malicious payload, which modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names. This behavior is intended to inflate developer reputation scores for rewards, leading to pollution of the npm registry with potentially harmful packages. The continuous republishing of these variants poses a significant risk to developers relying on npm for secure package management.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall visible_leech-smileteaIf 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 visible_leech-smiletea package and look for alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks. Additionally, regularly audit your npm packages using tools like npm audit to identify vulnerabilities.
Conclusion
The visible_leech-smiletea package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code that alters package configurations and pollutes the npm registry. It is crucial for developers to remove this package and monitor their dependencies for vulnerabilities to maintain the security of their applications.
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FAQ
It is a package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to automate the generation of derivative packages.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file, potentially leading to security vulnerabilities and pollution of the npm registry.
You should uninstall the package immediately and check for any dependencies that may be affected.
You can use tools like npm audit or services like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json for vulnerabilities in real-time.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check for vulnerabilities in your application without requiring any signup.
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