OpenSSF/OSV advisory MAL-2026-10940 confirms this npm version as malicious. chai-leaf@1.4.5's main entry index.js unconditionally requires./lib/config, which is a single 3,546,568-byte obfuscator.io-encoded file (20,721-entry string array with self-defending routines) that runs immediately on require(). The decoded string table inside lib/config.js contains literals for.ssh and.aws (installer credential directories) alongside axios, spawn, exec, Function, and require — the shape of a...
Source
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV
Summary
Malicious code in chai-leaf (npm)
Details
chai-leaf@1.4.5's main entry index.js unconditionally requires./lib/config, which is a single 3,546,568-byte obfuscator.io-encoded file (20,721-entry string array with self-defending routines) that runs immediately on require(). The decoded string table inside lib/config.js contains literals for.ssh and.aws (installer credential directories) alongside axios, spawn, exec, Function, and require — the shape of a load-time credential stealer that reads secrets from the installer's home directory and exfiltrates via HTTP. package.json declares axios as a runtime dependency. The package presents itself with inconsistent cover stories: package.json describes it as vulnerability-management documentation while the README impersonates pino (badges, prose, and docs/api.md copied verbatim from pinojs/pino) and the lib/ tree mirrors pino's file names (proto.js, redaction.js, tools.js, transport.js, worker.js) with the extra obfuscated config.js that has no analog in real pino. The package name and README also allude to chai, unrelated to either declared purpose. A logger/chai plugin has no legitimate need for a multi-megabyte self-defending obfuscated blob that executes at import, and no legitimate need to reference ~/.ssh and ~/.aws.
## Source: ghsa-malware (38312fd425c2921477fe6eecb5036500bcdbc1735dee43f3a84cfcbf2ba3002f) Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.
Decision reason
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV confirms chai-leaf@1.4.5 as malicious (MAL-2026-10940): Malicious code in chai-leaf (npm)