{"id":"MAL-2026-15917","summary":"Malicious code in @crysnovax/baileys (npm)","details":"@crysnovax/baileys is a renamed fork of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library. On every successful connection (connection.update with connection === 'open', wired in lib/Socket/socket.js) it silently makes the user's own authenticated WhatsApp account follow two channels controlled by the publisher, 120363402922206865@newsletter and 120363423670814885@newsletter, through the xwa2_newsletter_join_v2 FOLLOW query, with no opt-out and a creds.additionalData.crysnovaxFollowed once-flag. From 2.7.10 the module that performs the follow (lib/Utils/channel-policy.js) is the only file in the package run through javascript-obfuscator (declared as a devDependency with an 'obfuscate' npm script); pkgwarden re-implemented the rotated string-table decoder to recover the channel ids without executing the code. Separately, from 2.7.6, lib/Utils/integrity.js POSTs the package name and version plus a SHA-256 machine fingerprint to https://bailey.crysnovax.link/api/v1/verify on every connect (a publisher-controlled kill switch that fails open), and the update check is repointed to web.crysnovax.link. Earlier versions (1.0.3 through 2.7.5) carry the same forced follow in plaintext with a comment calling it a 'condition of use'; they are not listed here. The listed versions combine the concealed follow with the fingerprint phone-home. Reachability was confirmed by following the socket chain from makeWASocket. No credential or session-key theft was observed. All listed versions were fetched from the npm registry and read by hand on 2026-09-03; the current latest tag (2.8.3) is armed. Related family: MAL-2026-13932 and MAL-2026-15819 (Baileys-fork newsletter auto-follow campaign).","modified":"2026-09-04T06:15:05.341122298Z","published":"2026-09-03T18:09:54Z","database_specific":{"iocs":{"urls":["https://bailey.crysnovax.link/api/v1/verify"],"domains":["bailey.crysnovax.link"],"files":[{"source":"PACKAGE_ARCHIVE","digests":{"sha256":"ee0dc4f66c39603e12b014cc09bee260bb80b9bbfe3d2f1428faccf95bebfec3"},"note":"javascript-obfuscator-processed forced-follow module (digest from 2.8.3)","paths":["lib/Utils/channel-policy.js"]},{"paths":["lib/Utils/integrity.js"],"source":"PACKAGE_ARCHIVE","digests":{"sha256":"851ebe678d46a63fadc8e85def5f657e75cf1dd73e482e82f53d9ef71ac2750e"},"note":"machine-fingerprint POST to bailey.crysnovax.link on every connect (digest from 2.8.3)"},{"note":"connection.update hook that invokes the forced follow (digest from 2.8.3)","paths":["lib/Socket/socket.js"],"source":"PACKAGE_ARCHIVE","digests":{"sha256":"d6ad429de0e0723c2f19e38c197feb28f60e62526bff155a8da26d52353f66c6"}}]}},"references":[{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://www.npmjs.com/package/@crysnovax/baileys"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-15819"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-13932"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://pkgwarden.com/incidents/baileys-whatsapp-auto-follow-npm-september-2026/"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"@crysnovax/baileys","ecosystem":"npm","purl":"pkg:npm/%40crysnovax/baileys"},"versions":["2.7.6","2.7.10","2.7.11","2.7.12","2.7.13","2.7.14","2.7.15","2.7.16","2.7.17","2.7.18","2.7.19","2.7.20","2.7.21","2.8.0","2.8.1","2.8.2","2.8.3"],"database_specific":{"source":"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/@crysnovax/baileys/MAL-2026-15917.json"}}],"schema_version":"1.9.0","credits":[{"name":"pkgwarden","contact":["https://pkgwarden.com"],"type":"FINDER"}]}