Malicious Code Injection in yeasty_loon-smiletea Package
Summary
MAL-2025-111282: Malicious code in yeasty_loon-smiletea (npm). Affected versions are not published. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The yeasty_loon-smiletea package is part of the npm ecosystem and appears to be 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 in exchange for tea protocol token rewards. Its functionality is compromised due to the presence of malicious scripts that manipulate package metadata.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in the yeasty_loon-smiletea package stems from malicious code that modifies the package.json file. This code removes private flags, alters version numbers, and generates random package names, leading to the continuous republishing of these variants. The origin of this vulnerability is linked to the broader issue of npm packages being exploited for token rewards, which can result in pollution of the npm registry and potential security risks for developers using these packages.
How To Fix
This package is malicious. Remove it and rotate any credentials it could have accessed.
npm uninstall yeasty_loon-smileteaIf 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 yeasty_loon-smiletea package and replace it with a trusted alternative that provides similar functionality without the risk of malicious code.
Conclusion
The yeasty_loon-smiletea package poses a significant risk due to its malicious code that alters package metadata and repopulates the npm registry with potentially harmful variants. It is crucial to remove this package from your project and monitor your dependencies for vulnerabilities.
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FAQ
The yeasty_loon-smiletea package 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 pollution of the npm registry and compromising the integrity of your project.
You should uninstall the yeasty_loon-smiletea package immediately using the command: npm uninstall yeasty_loon-smiletea.
Yes, you should look for reputable packages that provide similar functionality without the associated risks of malicious code.
You can use Vulert, which monitors your package-lock.json file to alert you in real-time for open-source vulnerabilities. You can check your application for vulnerabilities using the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner without any signup.
