datacamp-light

Details

**Severity:** Critical

**Affected versions:** `= 99.0.0`

## Source: amazon-inspector (234a0d37873455b7db32068745d93ed29aafa596877b39949280b4ec0621ad6b)
datacamp-light 99.0.0 impersonates DataCamp's internal package (name='datacamp-light', author='DataCamp', url='https://github.com/datacamp/datacamp-light', anomalous version 99.0.0 — the canonical dependency-confusion bait shape). setup.py defines an exfiltrate() function and invokes it unconditionally at top level, so it fires during `pip install`. The function collects hostname, current working directory, platform, Python version, and USER/USERNAME environment variables, JSON-encodes them, and POSTs them via urllib.request.urlopen to https://z39gspa3.pingback.sh/c. Any installer whose resolver picks up this public artifact (the intent of the 99.0.0 version pin) leaks host and user identifiers to the pingback domain. Even though the package self-labels as a 'PoC,' the published artifact actively phones home from any machine that installs it.

## Source: kam193 (932d64d5c0af79e8508b244379f54edc48fea625d9becd455912980e30dd146e)
Installing the package or importing the module exfiltrates basic information about the host, and the package has no other purpose.


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Category: PROBABLY_PENTEST - Packages looking like typical pentest packages, but also anything that looks like testing, exploring pre-prepared kits, research & co, with clearly low-harm possibilities.


Campaign: GENERIC-standard-pypi-install-pentest


Reasons (based on the campaign):


 - The package contains code to exfiltrate basic data from the system, like IP or username. It has a limited risk.


 - The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.

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Credit: [OpenSSF](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages) ([source](https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/49d0cfba3689ed9b195d101d3a2a964c6a77f767/osv/malicious/pypi/datacamp-light/MAL-2026-5868.json))

**References:**
- https://bad-packages.kam193.eu/pypi/package/datacamp-light
- https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/49d0cfba3689ed9b195d101d3a2a964c6a77f767/osv/malicious/pypi/datacamp-light/MAL-2026-5868.json
- https://pypi.org/project/datacamp-light/99.0.0
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-jp33-26j9-fgfr

Compromised versions (1)

• = 99.0.0

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