registry / hardhat-bits / 2.21.0

hardhat-bits@2.21.0

This document describes the management of vulnerabilities for the project and all modules within the organization.

AI Security Review

scanned 15h ago · by lpm-firewall-ai

Importing the package loads a large, heavily obfuscated config module that combines network capability with shell command execution.

Static reason

High-risk behavior combination matched malicious policy.

Trigger

Requiring the package entrypoint imports `lib/config.js`.

Impact

The opaque imported code can execute shell commands and make network requests during module loading; the precise command and remote effect are not established from the inspected excerpts.

Mechanism

The config module imports Axios and child-process APIs; it invokes `execSync` with a command assembled through obfuscated helpers.

Attack narrative

The declared entrypoint imports `lib/config.js` immediately. That 4.4 MB single-line file is heavily obfuscated and includes Axios, OS/filesystem access, and an `execSync` call with an obfuscated command. This is a concrete, reachable execution surface whose purpose cannot be explained from the inspected source excerpts.

AI rationale

The package entrypoint loads a heavily obfuscated module that invokes shell execution and includes network capability. This concrete, reachable behavior warrants blocking despite the exact command and endpoint being obscured.

Evidence

index.jslib/config.js

OSV advisory

OpenSSF/OSV

Advisory

MAL-2026-17658

Source

OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV

The package is published as hardhat-bits but its README, LICENSE, docs/, and lib/* files are copied verbatim from the pino logger project, providing cover for an inserted file at lib/config.js. index.js performs `const config = require('./lib/config')` at the top level, so the file executes unconditionally when the module is required. lib/config.js is a single-line, ~4.47 MB obfuscator.io output: a 26,130-entry shuffled string array with a rotating decoder, hex-escaped member access, RC4-style key-schedule string decoding, control-flow flattening, and a self-defending IIFE. The exported `middleware` in index.js is a no-op `(_req, _res, next) => next()`, so the obfuscated module serves no documented purpose in the public API. The combination of name/branding mismatch (hardhat tooling name, pino content), a stub public API, and a multi-megabyte obfuscated blob auto-executed on import matches the trojan-loader shape used by npm supply-chain malware; any installer that requires hardhat-bits runs attacker-controlled code hidden behind the obfuscation.

hardhat-bits@2.21.0

AI Security Review

OSV advisory

Decision evidence

Source & flagged code

Source & flagged code

Findings

Affected versions and remediation

Source & flagged code