OpenSSF/OSV advisory MAL-2026-3707 confirms this npm version as malicious. package.json declares a postinstall hook that base64-decodes the URL http://8.217.75.147:3000/payload, fetches it via curl over plain HTTP, and pipes the response directly into bash. This executes attacker-controlled code on every installer's machine at `npm install` time, with no integrity verification and an obfuscated (base64) destination. The package itself is a hollow lure: index.js exports an empty object, and...
Source
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV
Summary
Malicious code in ethers-common (npm)
Details
package.json declares a postinstall hook that base64-decodes the URL http://8.217.75.147:3000/payload, fetches it via curl over plain HTTP, and pipes the response directly into bash. This executes attacker-controlled code on every installer's machine at `npm install` time, with no integrity verification and an obfuscated (base64) destination. The package itself is a hollow lure: index.js exports an empty object, and the package name and description ("Utilities for Web3/ethers development") impersonate the well-known `ethers` Web3 library to bait installs. The combination of bare-IP C2, plain HTTP, base64-obfuscated URL, curl|bash dropper in a lifecycle hook, and an empty cover-story library is unambiguous supply-chain attack.
## Source: ossf-package-analysis (48af3bdbd3b7966516ff3ab4baf1a946a38ce1735dc0c8fb41b2bc9abfa30449) The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'ethers-common' @ 1.0.0 (npm) as malicious.
It is considered malicious because:
- The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.
Decision reason
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV confirms ethers-common@1.0.0 as malicious (MAL-2026-3707): Malicious code in ethers-common (npm)