Malicious code in nice-utils-helper (npm)
The npm package nice-utils-helper@1.0.0 contained malicious code that executed cloud-environment reconnaissance during installation. The postinstall script probed AWS, Aliyun, Tencent, and other cloud metadata endpoints and wrote beacon/marker files to the filesystem.
- Disclosed
- Last updated
- Blast radius
- Any developer or system that installed nice-utils-helper@1.0.0 during the malicious window.
- Ecosystems
- Attack vectors
- Affected entities
- nice-utils-helper · 1.0.0
The npm package nice-utils-helper@1.0.0 was published with malicious code embedded in a postinstall lifecycle script (probe.js). Upon installation, the script executed unsolicited reconnaissance against cloud provider metadata services, including AWS (169.254.169.254), Aliyun (100.100.100.200), Tencent (metadata.tencentyun.com, 169.254.0.23), and others.\n\nThe reconnaissance behavior collected information about cloud environment reachability, the host's hostname, and current working directory. The script then wrote marker files (NCODE_META.txt and NCODE_POC_MARKER.txt) to multiple directory levels (current directory, parent, and grandparent), leaving artifacts above the package root.\n\nThe package was advertised as a 'game metadata' utility and falsely labeled the probing as an 'Authorized PoC', but the actual behavior was unauthorized cloud-environment reconnaissance and cross-directory file writes unrelated to any legitimate utility function.\n\nThe incident was identified and credited to the OpenSSF malicious-packages repository.
Indicators of compromise
- Packages
- nice-utils-helper@1.0.0
Remediation
- Immediately uninstall nice-utils-helper@1.0.0 from all systems
- Search for and remove NCODE_META.txt and NCODE_POC_MARKER.txt files from the current directory and parent directories
- Review cloud metadata service access logs for suspicious requests from affected systems
- Audit systems that installed this package for unauthorized changes or data exfiltration
- Use npm audit to identify any remaining vulnerable dependencies
- Consider rotating credentials and reviewing IAM policies if cloud metadata was accessible
Sources
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-mhvv-fv22-f2mc · GitHub Advisory Database
Cite this entry
"Malicious code in nice-utils-helper (npm)." supplychainattack.org, Supply Chain Attack Incident Catalog. Disclosed August 19, 2026; last updated August 19, 2026. https://supplychainattack.org/incident/malicious-code-in-nice-utils-helper-npm-v5lyfo
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