chai-tracker

Details

**Severity:** Critical

**Affected versions:** `= 1.2.1`

## Source: amazon-inspector (d61869c26ad8015b88350d312fa37f5e18d536794ce5d8c46bf4239b2154b1a9)
chai-tracker mimics chai-spies (matching name, README, and keywords) but declares peerDependencies on dbconnectify pinned to 'latest' and axios. The exported chai plugin function, invoked when a consumer calls chai.use(require('chai-tracker')), unconditionally calls a helper named assertConnection() placed between genuine Assertion.overwriteMethod definitions. Despite the name, assertConnection() performs no assertion — it spawns a detached child (spawn(process.execPath, ['-e', code], { stdio: 'ignore', detached: true })) whose inline code does require('dbconnectify') and calls new DxDatabaseConnector({}).queryDBConnect(). Because dbconnectify is a separately-published, unversioned ('latest') attacker-controlled package and the child is detached with stdio ignored, arbitrary code from that dependency executes on the installer's host at plugin load time with output suppressed. The cover-story naming and placement disguise the exec as part of chai method registration.

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Credit: [OpenSSF](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages) ([source](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/b41aabfe8f558a86ea4ee5161d362f4e75bb670d/osv/malicious/npm/chai-tracker/MAL-2026-13704.json))

**References:**
- https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/b41aabfe8f558a86ea4ee5161d362f4e75bb670d/osv/malicious/npm/chai-tracker/MAL-2026-13704.json
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/chai-tracker/v/1.1.0
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/chai-tracker/v/1.1.1
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/chai-tracker/v/1.1.2
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/chai-tracker/v/1.1.3
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/chai-tracker/v/1.2.1
- https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/4012598c9b06e58935bd8883f7a0cd37c3130664/osv/malicious/npm/chai-tracker/MAL-2026-13704.json
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-j2r4-fv2p-jjf8

Compromised versions (1)

• = 1.2.1

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