Malicious Code Injection in watery_damselfly_0xrequest Package
Summary
MAL-2025-110669: Malicious code in watery_damselfly_0xrequest (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The watery_damselfly_0xrequest package is part of the npm ecosystem and is associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign. This package is designed to facilitate the automatic generation and publication of derivative packages, which are often used to inflate developer reputation scores for token rewards. 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 leads to the continuous republishing of these variants, polluting the npm registry and potentially affecting other developers by inflating reputation scores fraudulently. The malicious scripts included in the package (auto.js, autopublish.js, etc.) are designed to automate this process, making it difficult to track and mitigate the impact.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall watery_damselfly_0xrequestIf it arrived as a transitive dependency, remove the package that pulled it in, then reinstall.
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Workaround
As a workaround, you can temporarily prevent the package from executing by removing it from your dependencies in the package.json file and running npm install to update your project. Additionally, consider using tools like Vulert to monitor your project for vulnerabilities in real-time.
Conclusion
The watery_damselfly_0xrequest package has been identified as containing malicious code that poses a significant risk to developers and the npm ecosystem. It is crucial to remove this package from your projects and utilize monitoring tools like Vulert to safeguard against future vulnerabilities.
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FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to automate the generation and publication of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry and may affect your project's integrity by introducing malicious code.
You should remove the package from your project and monitor for any updates or patches that may address the vulnerability.
Yes, Vulert allows you to monitor and alert for open-source vulnerabilities in your software using just the package-lock.json file.
Regularly audit your dependencies, use tools like Vulert for real-time monitoring, and stay informed about known vulnerabilities in the packages you use.
