Malicious Code Injection in yeasty_cattle_z3n Package
Summary
MAL-2025-99013: Malicious code in yeasty_cattle_z3n (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The yeasty_cattle_z3n 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 publishing of derivative packages, which can inflate developer reputation scores. However, it has been identified as containing malicious code that alters package metadata and floods the npm registry with unwanted variants.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the yeasty_cattle_z3n 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 can lead to pollution of the npm registry. This behavior is part of a broader scheme to exploit the npm ecosystem for token rewards, potentially compromising the integrity of the registry and affecting developers relying on legitimate packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall yeasty_cattle_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, you can prevent the installation of the yeasty_cattle_z3n package by using npm's package-lock.json to lock your dependencies. Additionally, you can monitor your project for vulnerabilities using tools like Vulert, which can alert you to any open-source vulnerabilities in real-time.
Conclusion
The yeasty_cattle_z3n package has been identified as containing malicious code that alters package metadata and floods the npm registry. It is crucial for developers to remove this package and monitor their projects for vulnerabilities to maintain the integrity of their applications.
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FAQ
The yeasty_cattle_z3n package is an npm package involved in the tea.xyz token reward campaign, which has been found to contain malicious code.
The malicious code modifies your package.json file, removes private flags, and floods the npm registry with unwanted package variants, potentially compromising your project's integrity.
You should remove the yeasty_cattle_z3n package from your project and monitor for any updates or patches that may address the vulnerability.
Yes, you can use the Vulert playground to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
Vulert is a tool that monitors and alerts in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities in your software using just the package-lock.json file.
