Malicious Code Injection in wowwgt-devapptea Package
Summary
MAL-2025-111033: Malicious code in wowwgt-devapptea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The wowwgt-devapptea package is part of the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been associated with a surge of malicious packages on npm. This package is designed to facilitate token rewards through the generation and publication of derivative packages. It aims to inflate developer reputation scores by automatically creating and publishing numerous packages with randomized names.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability stems from the presence of malicious code within the wowwgt-devapptea package. This code modifies the package.json file to remove private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names, primarily themed around Indonesian culture. The malicious payload continuously republishes these variants to pollute the npm registry, potentially leading to reputation damage for developers and security risks for users who inadvertently install these packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall wowwgt-devappteaIf 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 remove the wowwgt-devapptea package from your project by executing the command: npm uninstall wowwgt-devapptea. This will prevent any malicious code from executing while you assess the situation.
Conclusion
The wowwgt-devapptea package contains malicious code that poses significant risks to developers and users alike. It is crucial to take immediate action by updating or removing the package and to implement monitoring solutions like Vulert to safeguard against future vulnerabilities.
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FAQ
The wowwgt-devapptea package is part of a campaign to reward developers with tokens by generating numerous derivative packages on npm.
The malicious code can alter your package.json file, remove private flags, and continuously publish harmful variants, which can compromise your project's integrity.
If you have installed the wowwgt-devapptea package, you should uninstall it immediately and check for any other affected packages in your project.
You can use Vulert, which monitors and alerts you in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities using just your package-lock.json file. You can check your application for vulnerabilities without any signup at the Vulert playground.
Regularly updating your dependencies, using tools like Vulert for monitoring, and conducting security audits can help prevent vulnerabilities in your projects.
