Malicious Code Injection in Voluntary Wombat Z3N Package
Summary
MAL-2025-91987: Malicious code in voluntary_wombat_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The 'voluntary_wombat_z3n' package is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. It is designed to facilitate the automatic generation and publication of derivative packages, which can inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. However, this package has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises its integrity and the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability originates from the package's design to include autopublish scripts that modify the package.json file. These modifications remove private flags, alter version numbers, and generate random package names, leading to the continuous republishing of variants. This behavior not only pollutes the npm registry but also poses a risk to developers who may unknowingly use these compromised packages, potentially leading to security breaches in their applications.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall voluntary_wombat_z3nIf 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 'voluntary_wombat_z3n' package and monitor your project's dependencies for any instances of this package. You can also use tools like Vulert to check your package-lock.json for vulnerabilities without requiring access to the code or installation.
Conclusion
The 'voluntary_wombat_z3n' package has been identified as containing malicious code that can compromise the integrity of applications using it. It is crucial to remove this package and monitor your dependencies for any vulnerabilities. Utilizing tools like Vulert can help maintain the security of your projects.
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FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to automate the publication of derivative packages.
The malicious code can compromise your application's integrity by modifying package configurations and potentially introducing security risks.
You should uninstall the package immediately and check for any dependencies that may be affected.
Yes, you can use Vulert to monitor your package-lock.json for vulnerabilities in real-time without needing to access the code.
Regularly update your dependencies, monitor for vulnerabilities, and utilize tools like Vulert to stay informed about potential risks.
