MAL-2026-18276: Malicious code in @drone-js-ext/core (npm)

Published Oct 25, 2026
·
Updated

@drone-js-ext/core is a dependency-confusion package: it squats the @drone-js-ext scope, which matches a private internal package scope, and was published on 2026-10-25 in versions 1.0.0, 2.0.1, 3.0.0, 99.0.1 (up to 99.0.1) so that builds resolving the internal name from the public registry install it instead. Its postinstall script runs node beacon.cjs, which sends an HTTP POST over cleartext HTTP to the hardcoded IP endpoint http://185.158.107.175:8787/ah/dc with the package name, the machine's hostname, the install directory, the current working directory and the Node.js version, tagged with an x-beacon-package header. The entry point index.js sends the same request again whenever the package is loaded and otherwise exports a Proxy whose every property is a no-op function, so it has no legitimate functionality and hides the missing API from bundlers. The README calls it an "authorized dependency-confusion test"; that does not change what it does to an installer. The same beacon code and endpoint appear in other dependency-confusion packages from the same publisher. The inert 0.0.0-stage and 0.1.0 placeholder versions carry no install script and are not affected. Any machine that installed an affected version has disclosed its hostname and filesystem layout to a third party; remove the package, pin or scope internal package names to the internal registry, and block 185.158.107.175 on build hosts.

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Source: amazon-inspector (9173b1e0c1d01cafb58dfbcad8b59a50f49700cc911e22df2787f5a92b4c6e43) The package ships a beacon.cjs that collects host identifiers (hostname, install path, current working directory, Node version) and POSTs them in cleartext to the hardcoded bare-IP endpoint http://185.158.107.175:8787/ah/dc. This beacon is wired to run automatically in two places: package.json declares scripts.postinstall = "node beacon.cjs", so it executes on npm install, and index.js also invokes the same fire() function at module load, so it executes again on require(). The remainder of the package is a no-op Proxy shim with no functional code matching the stated Compatibility shim description. The scope-and-version shape (@drone-js-ext/core at version 99.0.1 against a plausibly internal @drone-js-ext/ namespace) matches a dependency-confusion lure designed to be resolved in place of a private internal package. A README self-label of dependency-confusion test does not change the behavior: any installer that resolves this package has host-identifying data sent to a non-vendor, non-registry, bare-IP, plaintext-HTTP collector controlled by a third party.

Source: ghsa-malware (338c919fc73c66cb9bd18fa251359467039387724d1f8f41e6d3bb88f52ddc6f) Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.

Affected Software

1 affected component
npm/@drone-js-ext/core*

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Remove

    Remove @drone-js-ext/core from your environment.

    Remove @drone-js-ext/core from any computer where it is installed or running.

  2. Configuration

    Pin or scope internal package names, including the @drone-js-ext scope, to the internal registry so they cannot resolve from the public registry.

    npm package resolution internal package scope registry = internal registry
  3. Compensating control

    Block 185.158.107.175 on build hosts.

  4. Operational

    Immediately rotate all secrets and keys stored on any computer where @drone-js-ext/core was installed, performing the rotation from a different computer.

Event History

Oct 25, 2026
Advisory Published
via OSV·04:49 AM
Data Sourced
via OSV·04:49 AM
DescriptionAffected Software

Contact

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