OpenSSF/OSV advisory MAL-2026-14259 confirms this npm version as malicious. package.json declares the dependency `@whiskeysockets/baileys` but resolves it from `github:rcedubot/X` instead of the npm registry. Installing ranux-dev pulls arbitrary, unpinned, mutable code from that personal GitHub account under the name of a widely-used WhatsApp Web library, and that code runs in the installer's Node process with full WhatsApp session and credential access. Every shipped source file (index.js,...
Source
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV
Summary
Malicious code in ranux-dev (npm)
Details
package.json declares the dependency `@whiskeysockets/baileys` but resolves it from `github:rcedubot/X` instead of the npm registry. Installing ranux-dev pulls arbitrary, unpinned, mutable code from that personal GitHub account under the name of a widely-used WhatsApp Web library, and that code runs in the installer's Node process with full WhatsApp session and credential access. Every shipped source file (index.js, config.js, database.js, tenantManager.js, command.js, lib/*.js, plugins/*.js) is heavily obfuscated with obfuscator.io-style transforms and an RC4-over-base64 string decoder, so endpoints, credentials, and control flow cannot be reviewed statically. config.js exports a frozen `SECRETS` object with hardcoded encrypted strings alongside `API_ENDPOINTS` and `NETWORK_CONFIG` (MongoDB-shaped) constants. The combination — dependency substitution of a popular WhatsApp library from an unaffiliated GitHub account, uniform obfuscation across the tarball, a multi-tenant WhatsApp/MongoDB architecture, and shipped hardcoded credential-shaped constants — matches the session-harvester pattern in which installer WhatsApp sessions and tenant data are funneled to an author-controlled backend.
Decision reason
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV confirms ranux-dev@5.0.0 as malicious (MAL-2026-14259): Malicious code in ranux-dev (npm)