hardhat-jsx
This report shows the evidence for hardhat-jsx@2.0.1, the only known version.
OpenSSF/OSV Malicious Advisory
imported 18d ago · by OpenSSF/OSVOpenSSF/OSV advisory MAL-2026-17507 confirms this npm version as malicious.
Advisory
MAL-2026-17507
Source
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV
Summary
Malicious code in hardhat-jsx (npm)
Details
The package is published as 'hardhat-jsx' but its metadata, documentation, and lib/ layout impersonate the pino logger (keywords 'fast','logger','stream','json'; shipped docs reference pinojs/pino). The main entry index.js unconditionally requires./lib/config, which is a 4,499,968-byte single-line obfuscator.io artifact — a hex-escaped string array of ~26,234 entries with string-array rotation and control-flow flattening (22,707 decoder-wrapper inlines, 44,499 string-inline changes). A legitimate pino 'config' module is ~1-2KB; a multi-megabyte obfuscated blob auto-loaded by the main entry is a loader/dropper. The surface index.js exports a no-op Express-style middleware whose comment claims it 'triggers a background process', providing a cover story adjacent to the obfuscated require. Loading the package via require/import executes the opaque payload in the installer's process. The name/content mismatch (hardhat-jsx vs. pino impersonation), the stub façade, and the heavily obfuscated auto-loaded module together form a trojan-package shape.
References
Independent LPM AI assessment
SuspiciousIndependent AI assessment: suspicious. LPM AI assessed this version as suspicious; the assessments disagree.
Source inspection confirms import-reachable obfuscated command and network behavior with no clear relationship to the exported middleware. The decoded payload and effective execution gates remain unresolved, so the evidence supports a warning rather than a confirmed malicious classification.
Static reason
High-risk behavior combination matched malicious policy.
Trigger
Loading index.js imports lib/config.js; further execution depends on concealed conditions.
Impact
Potential command execution and network communication in the importing process; exact effects remain unresolved.
Mechanism
Decoded expressions construct shell commands and network request arguments.
AI rationale
Source inspection confirms import-reachable obfuscated command and network behavior with no clear relationship to the exported middleware. The decoded payload and effective execution gates remain unresolved, so the evidence supports a warning rather than a confirmed malicious classification.
Evidence
index.jslib/config.js
Independent scan evidence
public snapshotAI called this Suspicious at 86.0% confidence as Unknown with medium false-positive risk.
Evidence for AI warning decision
- package.json selects index.js as the entrypoint.
- index.js unconditionally imports lib/config.js.
- lib/config.js conceals command construction with extensive string decoding and imports command execution functions.
- lib/config.js calls execSync with an obfuscated command under an operating-system condition.
- lib/config.js contains an Axios request with an obfuscated destination and headers.
Evidence against
- No automatic installation lifecycle hooks or runtime self-dependency appear in package.json.
- Inspected excerpts do not establish the decoded commands, network destination, or a confirmed download-and-execute chain.
Behavioral surface
ChildProcessEnvironmentVars
HighEntropyStringsMinifiedUrlStrings
Oversized source lightweight scan
Source & flagged code
7 flagged · loading sourceindex.jsView file
3const path = require('path');
L4: const { spawn } = require('child_process');
L5: const { DEFAULT_LEVELS, SORTING_ORDER } = require('./lib/constants');
High
6const config = require('./lib/config');
const { pid }
High
lib/config.jsView file
1(function(a,z){const kR={a:0x1654,z:0x72b,n:0x230f,H:0xdd5,m:0x1361,p:0x204,W:0x19f1,F:0x4a6b,P:0x1aad,o:0x3d64,j:0x3fc9,d:0x581e,l:'\x30\x33\x7a\x66',I:0x655a,K:0x7e23,V:0x8934,O:...
Critical
Download Execute
Source downloads or fetches remote code and executes it.
lib/config.jsView on unpkg · L1Findings
2 Critical4 High3 Medium3 Low
CriticalDownload Executelib/config.js
CriticalTrigger Reachable Dangerous Capabilitylib/config.js
HighChild Processindex.js
HighSemantic Analysis Limitedlib/config.js
HighAi Review Evidencepackage.json
HighAi Review Evidenceindex.js
MediumEnvironment Vars
MediumOversized Source Filelib/config.js
MediumStructural Risk Force Deep Review
LowScripts Present
LowHigh Entropy Strings
LowUrl Strings
Affected versions and remediation
This report applies to hardhat-jsx@2.0.1.
The versions list below shows the verdict for each recorded version.
- Avoid installing hardhat-jsx@2.0.1. 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: .
Think this verdict is wrong? Dispute it on GitHub or read how reports are produced.