Malicious code in @sarex-team/viewer (npm)
The npm package @sarex-team/viewer contained malicious code that exfiltrated system information (OS username, hostname, and working directory) via DNS queries to an attacker-controlled domain (oob.sl4x0.xyz). The payload executed automatically on package installation and on every require() call.
- Disclosed
- Last updated
- Blast radius
- All npm users who installed @sarex-team/viewer
- Ecosystems
- Attack vectors
- Affected entities
- @sarex-team/viewer
The npm package @sarex-team/viewer was found to contain malicious code that performed data exfiltration without user interaction. The package's install script (declared in package.json) executed a Node.js script that collected sensitive system information including the installer's OS username, hostname, and current working directory basename.\n\nThe malicious code in lib/core.js used Node.js built-in modules (os, dns, process) to gather this information and encode it as DNS subdomain labels, then issued a dns.resolve4() lookup to the hardcoded attacker-controlled domain oob.sl4x0.xyz. The domain name and module/API names were obfuscated using numeric char-code arrays in lib/b02e30.js and lib/6ad264.js to evade detection.\n\nExecution was automatic and zero-interaction: the install script ran on npm install, and the malicious code also executed on every subsequent require() of the package, while the installation appeared to complete successfully due to error handling that swallowed exceptions.\n\nThe incident was identified and credited to the OpenSSF malicious-packages repository.
Indicators of compromise
- Packages
- @sarex-team/viewer
- Domains
- oob.sl4x0.xyz
Remediation
- Immediately uninstall @sarex-team/viewer from all systems
- Audit npm install logs and package-lock.json to identify all installations of @sarex-team/viewer
- Assume compromise of OS username, hostname, and working directory information for any system that installed this package
- Review DNS logs for queries to oob.sl4x0.xyz and related subdomains
- Consider rotating credentials and reviewing access logs on affected systems
- Use npm audit to check for other malicious packages
- Implement package verification and supply chain security scanning in your npm dependency management
Sources
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-xgp4-2rxm-62fh · GitHub Advisory Database
Cite this entry
"Malicious code in @sarex-team/viewer (npm)." supplychainattack.org, Supply Chain Attack Incident Catalog. Disclosed August 19, 2026; last updated August 19, 2026. https://supplychainattack.org/incident/malicious-code-in-sarex-team-viewer-npm-1i6wb2
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