{"id":"MAL-2026-16001","summary":"Malicious code in puppeteer-obscura (npm)","details":"\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (5617ac5e060d08fcfe23669c497e6b4fbb8587fd7f7630a7b9f6e86287880983)\nOn `npm install`, the package's postinstall hook (`node dist/install.js`) downloads a platform-specific binary from `https://github.com/h4ckf0r0day/obscura/releases/latest/download/\u003casset\u003e`, writes it to disk, marks it executable (chmod), and the package later spawns it via `child_process.spawn`. Two structural issues make this an install-time remote code execution surface: (1) the URL uses GitHub's mutable `releases/latest` pointer with no version pin and no hash or signature verification, so the bytes delivered to every installer can change at any moment without a corresponding npm release; (2) the GitHub owner `h4ckf0r0day` (defined in `dist/constants.js` as `GITHUB_REPO = \"h4ckf0r0day/obscura\"`) does not match the npm publisher identity `yoannchb`/`yoannchb-pro` declared in `package.json` and `LICENSE`. Whoever controls the `h4ckf0r0day` GitHub account — which is not the npm publisher — can ship arbitrary native code to every installer of this package. The advertised purpose (a Chromium-like browser binary for Puppeteer) provides cover for an opaque executable that runs on the installer's machine.\n\n## Source: ghsa-malware (a3c4d559ca37c933d3740932a055c986015603ed942aee9b747d0bde9e60a8dd)\nAny 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.\n","aliases":["GHSA-cxwq-q9c5-424v"],"modified":"2026-09-08T20:30:09.621719017Z","published":"2026-09-05T19:49:11Z","database_specific":{"malicious-packages-origins":[{"id":"GHSA-cxwq-q9c5-424v","import_time":"2026-09-07T01:51:49.715374Z","modified_time":"2026-09-05T19:49:13Z","ranges":[{"events":[{"introduced":"0"}],"type":"SEMVER"}],"sha256":"a3c4d559ca37c933d3740932a055c986015603ed942aee9b747d0bde9e60a8dd","source":"ghsa-malware"},{"import_time":"2026-09-08T20:17:35.354618613Z","modified_time":"2026-09-08T20:00:42Z","sha256":"5617ac5e060d08fcfe23669c497e6b4fbb8587fd7f7630a7b9f6e86287880983","source":"amazon-inspector","versions":["1.0.0"],"id":"IN-MAL-2026-019712"}]},"references":[{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-cxwq-q9c5-424v"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://www.npmjs.com/package/puppeteer-obscura/v/1.0.0"}],"affected":[{"package":{"name":"puppeteer-obscura","ecosystem":"npm","purl":"pkg:npm/puppeteer-obscura"},"ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["1.0.0"],"database_specific":{"cwes":[{"name":"Embedded Malicious Code","cweId":"CWE-506","description":"The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature."},{"cweId":"CWE-506","description":"The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.","name":"Embedded Malicious Code"}],"indicators":{"evidence_files":[{"sha256":"065d61493b5a624b06418c4eb8c548cfa3647b7deff824816e8fa76be539cf29","tlsh":"f2c1a33929f2727178bbe1ae670b5004e57d71133008d584ba6cb3902fed45a82e1efa","path":"dist/lib/download.js"}]},"source":"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/npm/puppeteer-obscura/MAL-2026-16001.json"}}],"schema_version":"1.9.0","credits":[{"name":"Amazon Inspector","contact":["inspector-research@amazon.com"],"type":"FINDER"}]}