registry / lite-matte / 1.0.0

lite-matte@1.0.0

OSV Malicious Advisory

imported 4d ago · by OpenSSF/OSV

OpenSSF/OSV advisory MAL-2026-17512 confirms this npm version as malicious. package.json declares `"postinstall": "wscript.exe 4444.vbs"`, causing `npm install` to auto-execute a ~765KB Windows Script Host file shipped in the tarball. 4444.vbs is heavily obfuscated: it reconstructs COM ProgIDs (ADODB.Stream, MSXML2.XMLHTTP) at runtime via a Chr/XOR helper, uses XOR-masked hex tables for AES S-boxes and SHA-256 round constants, and stores its real payload as ~700 Base64-shaped chunks in an...

Advisory

MAL-2026-17512

Source

OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV

Summary

Malicious code in lite-matte (npm)

Details

package.json declares `"postinstall": "wscript.exe 4444.vbs"`, causing `npm install` to auto-execute a ~765KB Windows Script Host file shipped in the tarball. 4444.vbs is heavily obfuscated: it reconstructs COM ProgIDs (ADODB.Stream, MSXML2.XMLHTTP) at runtime via a Chr/XOR helper, uses XOR-masked hex tables for AES S-boxes and SHA-256 round constants, and stores its real payload as ~700 Base64-shaped chunks in an `ArtifactBundleHX` array decrypted through AES-256-CBC followed by ChaCha20-IETF. The decrypted PowerShell loader is written to `%TEMP%` and handed off to powershell.exe with comments indicating process hollowing. The declared package purpose (a trivial 60-line zod-based email domain checker at src/index.js) is unrelated to the dropper, and the README explicitly states 'No installation scripts. No network requests.' while the manifest ships exactly that. Header cover story labels the script 'Verdant Signals Corp. Device Telemetry Aggregator'.

Decision reason

OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV confirms lite-matte@1.0.0 as malicious (MAL-2026-17512): Malicious code in lite-matte (npm)

References

OSV advisory PACKAGE

Source & flagged code

0 flagged

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Source & flagged code

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Findings

1 High

HighOsv Malicious Advisory

Affected versions and remediation

This report applies to lite-matte@1.0.0.

See version security history for other recorded verdicts.

Avoid installing lite-matte@1.0.0. 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: 2026-10-04 23:45:20.509Z (UTC).

Source advisory published: 2026-10-04 23:27:39.000Z (UTC).

This report uses published external intelligence. The advisory does not provide a separate source-code analysis for each listed version.