OpenSSF/OSV advisory MAL-2026-14539 confirms this npm version as malicious. The npm package ships an obfuscated payload appended to templates/backend/.eslintrc.js, after a legitimate-looking ESLint config. The payload uses obfuscator.io-style string-array indirection (rotating _0x12f0() table, hex-named identifiers) to conceal Ethereum JSON-RPC endpoints (eth.drpc.org, ethereum.publicnode.com, blastapi.io, blockscout) and an Etherscan-style txlist indexer path...
Source
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV
Summary
Malicious code in zenntechinc-cli (npm)
Details
The npm package ships an obfuscated payload appended to templates/backend/.eslintrc.js, after a legitimate-looking ESLint config. The payload uses obfuscator.io-style string-array indirection (rotating _0x12f0() table, hex-named identifiers) to conceal Ethereum JSON-RPC endpoints (eth.drpc.org, ethereum.publicnode.com, blastapi.io, blockscout) and an Etherscan-style txlist indexer path. It queries the latest transaction from a hardcoded sender address (0xa322e5f3...9adc2490ef), decodes two IPv4 C2 addresses from the transaction's `to` field, fetches an XOR-encoded payload from those IPs, and executes it via eval() and spawn('node', ['-e', payload], {detached:true}).unref(). The CLI's `new` subcommand in bin/zenntechinc.js recursively copies the entire templates/backend tree — including the malicious.eslintrc.js — into the user-specified target directory via copyDirectory(), with no filtering. Any subsequent editor open, ESLint invocation, or lint script run inside the generated project loads this.eslintrc.js and triggers the blockchain-resolved remote code execution with full developer privileges. The CLI's advertised purpose (backend scaffolding) is the delivery vector for the RCE payload into the installer's workspace.
Decision reason
OpenSSF Malicious Packages via OSV confirms zenntechinc-cli@1.6.4 as malicious (MAL-2026-14539): Malicious code in zenntechinc-cli (npm)