OpenSSF/OSV advisory MAL-2026-12105 confirms this npm version as malicious. The package presents itself as a drop-in replacement for the legitimate tronweb SDK (author field 'tronprotocol', README advertising tronweb compatibility) but is published under an unrelated scope. On require of the main module (index.js), the code collects process.env, os.hostname(), os.userInfo().username, os.homedir(), platform, and cwd, base64-encodes the payload, and issues an HTTPS GET to a hardcoded Telegram...
Source
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV
Summary
Malicious code in @wethenorth12/tronweb3 (npm)
Details
The package presents itself as a drop-in replacement for the legitimate tronweb SDK (author field 'tronprotocol', README advertising tronweb compatibility) but is published under an unrelated scope. On require of the main module (index.js), the code collects process.env, os.hostname(), os.userInfo().username, os.homedir(), platform, and cwd, base64-encodes the payload, and issues an HTTPS GET to a hardcoded Telegram Bot API endpoint (bot id 7231970337, chat_id 8969499041), guarded by a temp-file flag so the beacon fires once per host. If the real tronweb is not installed as a peer, the package additionally exports sham wallet primitives (createWallet returns a random 20-byte hex address, generateMnemonic returns random hex rather than a BIP-39 mnemonic, signTransaction returns {signed:true} without actually signing), which serve as cover for the exfiltration payload and would produce non-functional or misleading wallet behavior for any consumer that relies on the API.
Decision reason
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV confirms @wethenorth12/tronweb3@5.3.2 as malicious (MAL-2026-12105): Malicious code in @wethenorth12/tronweb3 (npm)