chai-secure
This report shows the evidence for chai-secure@1.2.5. 2 of 2 known versions are blocked or flagged. See all versions.
This package appears in our research on the fake chai plugin campaign, with how it works, the full package list and what to do if you installed it.
OpenSSF/OSV Malicious Advisory
imported 4mo ago · by OpenSSF/OSVOpenSSF/OSV advisory MAL-2026-10053 confirms this npm version as malicious.
Advisory
MAL-2026-10053
Source
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV
Summary
Malicious code in chai-secure (npm)
Details
chai-secure masquerades as a Chai plugin offering JWT/XSS/SQLi assertion helpers, but on every require()/import of the package, index.js unconditionally spawns a detached, stdio-ignored Node child process running lib/caller.js. lib/caller.js issues a GET to http://server-genimi-check.vercel.app/defy/v3 over plain HTTP and, when the server responds with HTTP 404 carrying a `token` field in the body, passes that field to `new Function.constructor('require', res.token)` and invokes it with the host `require` — executing attacker-supplied JavaScript with full package and host privileges on the installer's machine. Delivery via the 404 error path is an evasion technique that hides the payload channel from casual inspection, and plain HTTP additionally exposes the channel to on-path substitution. The assertion-helper API in index.js is a cover story; the README does not disclose the child_process spawn or the remote fetch. Several sibling files under lib/ (multistream.js, transport.js, worker.js, redaction.js) appear borrowed from pino to inflate the package's apparent surface area, and lib/caller.js contains a fake JSDoc-annotated getCallers() export that is never referenced. Any developer who installs chai-secure and imports it as the README instructs silently launches a background process that fetches and evaluates arbitrary attacker-controlled JavaScript.
References
Source & flagged code
0 flagged · loading sourceNo flagged code excerpts are attached to this scan.
Findings
1 High
HighOsv Malicious Advisory
Affected versions and remediation
This report applies to chai-secure@1.2.5.
The same advisory and Firewall decision cover 2 recorded versions
1.2.3, 1.2.5
The versions list below shows the verdict for each recorded version.
- Avoid installing chai-secure@1.2.5. Remove it from direct dependencies and check your lockfile for transitive copies.
- Choose an independently verified alternative or release. This report does not establish that other versions are safe.
- If this version ran, investigate the affected machine and build environment. Rotate credentials it could access and rebuild from a trusted environment.
Evidence last updated: .
Source advisory published: .
This report uses published external intelligence. The advisory does not provide a separate source-code analysis for each listed version.
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