dex-router-abis

Details

**Severity:** Critical

**Affected versions:** `= 0.9.1`

## Source: amazon-inspector (a8f8b62993678b4f720468a05ef91f6fdcc864dd6be78d1ffc6bd14125f18d8f)
The gem's extconf.rb (executed automatically during `gem install`) decodes a base64-encoded Ruby payload and executes it via a double-forked, detached process that sleeps 20-40 minutes before opening a TCP reverse shell from /bin/sh to the hardcoded remote host 45.138.12.177:8089. Execution is gated by environment checks that look for CI/sandbox/analysis indicators and probe for developer-secret artifacts (~/.ssh, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.gem/credentials, ~/.npmrc, ~/.bundle) so the payload fires only on real developer workstations with credentials present. The create_makefile stub in extconf.rb is a cover: no matching native source exists in the gem tree, and README/metadata identify the package as 'bitcoin-rpc-lite' (makefile target bitcoin_rpc_lite_native) while the published gem name is dex-router-abis, indicating a reused dropper template. Installing this gem grants the operator at 45.138.12.177:8089 interactive shell access to the installer's host with access to local SSH keys, RubyGems publishing credentials, and other developer secrets.

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Credit: [OpenSSF](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages) ([source](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/ff41f6680a0ebbef2268cdb5daf253d4b400cb05/osv/malicious/rubygems/dex-router-abis/MAL-2026-17784.json))

**References:**
- https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/ff41f6680a0ebbef2268cdb5daf253d4b400cb05/osv/malicious/rubygems/dex-router-abis/MAL-2026-17784.json
- https://rubygems.org/gems/dex-router-abis/versions/0.9.1
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-j34r-6fqr-vh5p

Compromised versions (1)

• = 0.9.1

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