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containedcritical

Malicious code in gaarf-bq (npm)

The npm package gaarf-bq contained malicious code in its postinstall lifecycle script that collected and exfiltrated host identifiers to an attacker-controlled domain. The package name resembles Google's legitimate gaarf (ads-api-report-fetcher) BigQuery component, consistent with dependency-confusion tactics.

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Disclosed
Last updated
Blast radius
Any developer or CI/CD system that installed gaarf-bq from npm
Ecosystems
npm
Attack vectors
Compromised packageDependency confusion
Affected entities
  • gaarf-bqnpm package with malicious postinstall script

The npm package gaarf-bq contained a malicious postinstall lifecycle script that executed upon installation. The script collected sensitive host identifiers including hostname, platform, architecture, Node version, and package metadata, then transmitted this information via HTTPS POST request to a hardcoded attacker-controlled endpoint at vpx0x956.instances.poc.jchunt.top/gaarf-bq.

The package name closely resembles Google's legitimate gaarf (ads-api-report-fetcher) BigQuery component, suggesting this was a dependency-confusion attack designed to trick internal builds into resolving the public malicious package instead of an internal one. The exfiltration endpoint was not configurable and unrelated to any documented package functionality.

The package's self-description as a security-research canary does not mitigate the core issue: installer-owned system identifiers were transmitted to an author-controlled host without user consent or opt-in mechanism.

The incident was identified and credited to the OpenSSF's malicious-packages repository.

Indicators of compromise

Packages
  • gaarf-bq
Domains
  • vpx0x956.instances.poc.jchunt.top

Remediation

  • Immediately uninstall gaarf-bq from all systems and CI/CD pipelines
  • Audit npm package.json files and lock files for any gaarf-bq dependencies
  • Review host identifiers (hostname, IP addresses, Node versions) that may have been exposed
  • Implement npm package allow-lists or use private registries to prevent dependency-confusion attacks
  • Monitor for suspicious outbound connections to vpx0x956.instances.poc.jchunt.top
  • Use npm audit and supply-chain security tools to detect similar malicious packages

Sources

  1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-mqcc-6rh5-hxfm · GitHub Advisory Database

Cite this entry

"Malicious code in gaarf-bq (npm)." supplychainattack.org, Supply Chain Attack Incident Catalog. Disclosed August 19, 2026; last updated August 19, 2026. https://supplychainattack.org/incident/malicious-code-in-gaarf-bq-npm-1w00ax

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