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MAL-2026-17228

Malicious code in nebulaai-sdk (npm)

Details

--- _-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_

## Source: amazon-inspector (dc906b81107141fbd85dcabf89fd2f5112c4e4a134045c90d6a35abb4b67d16e) The package's `preinstall.js` contains a base64+zlib-encoded 257 KB Windows PE executable. On `npm install` on Windows, the script decodes the blob and writes it to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Conhost\conhost.exe` — a path and filename that impersonates a legitimate Windows console host binary — then spawns it via `child_process.spawn` with `detached: true`, `stdio: 'ignore'`, and `windowsHide: true`, so execution is silent and survives the npm process. The decoded PE contains a section named `.kntrat` and references the external host `65.87.7.132` and the repository `github.com/syskiel/kntrat-e`, indicating remote command-and-control functionality (RAT-shaped naming). The package has no legitimate SDK functionality visible; the preinstall hook exists solely to stage and run the embedded executable. Installing this package on a Windows host results in full arbitrary code execution under the installing user, with a masqueraded persistent binary staged under LOCALAPPDATA and a C2 endpoint reachable at 65.87.7.132.

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Affected packages

npm/nebulaai-sdk

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References