Malicious Code Injection in welcome_pheasant-gooddev Package
Summary
MAL-2025-110805: Malicious code in welcome_pheasant-gooddev (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The welcome_pheasant-gooddev 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 its integrity and the security of the npm registry.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the welcome_pheasant-gooddev package stems from its malicious payload that modifies the package.json file. It removes private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names, which leads to the continuous republishing of these 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 further exploitation.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall welcome_pheasant-gooddevIf 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 welcome_pheasant-gooddev package and look for alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks. Additionally, you can monitor your package dependencies using tools like Vulert, which can alert you to vulnerabilities in real-time based on your package-lock.json file.
Conclusion
The welcome_pheasant-gooddev package has been identified as containing malicious code that compromises the security of the npm registry and poses risks to developers. It is crucial to remove this package from your projects and monitor for any vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert.
See every vulnerability recorded for welcome_pheasant-gooddev →
FAQ
It is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to generate and publish derivative packages.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file, potentially leading to the use of compromised packages that can harm your project.
You should uninstall the package immediately and monitor your project for any unusual behavior.
You can use Vulert to monitor your package-lock.json file for real-time alerts on open-source vulnerabilities.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
