Malicious Code Injection in wulan-40 Package: A Threat to npm Users
Summary
MAL-2025-170566: Malicious code in wulan-40 (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The wulan-40 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 can 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 in the wulan-40 package originates from its 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 variants that pollute the npm registry, potentially affecting other developers and users relying on npm for package management. The malicious scripts included in the package are designed to automate these processes, making it difficult for users to detect the threat.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall wulan-40
If 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 wulan-40 package and consider alternative packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks. Additionally, regularly audit your npm packages using tools like npm audit to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities.
Conclusion
The wulan-40 package poses a significant threat due to its malicious code that modifies package metadata and repopulates the npm registry with potentially harmful packages. It is crucial for developers to remove this package and monitor their dependencies for vulnerabilities to maintain the integrity of their projects.
See every vulnerability recorded for wulan-40 →
FAQ
The wulan-40 package is an npm package associated with the tea.xyz token reward campaign, designed to automate the generation of derivative packages.
The vulnerability can lead to the pollution of the npm registry and compromise the integrity of your project's dependencies, potentially introducing malicious code.
You should immediately remove the wulan-40 package from your project and check for any alternative packages that do not pose a security risk.
You can use tools like npm audit or services like Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json for vulnerabilities in real-time without requiring code access.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without needing to sign up.