Malicious code in @vertexa/prisma-fetch-engine (npm)
@vertexa/prisma-fetch-engine is a malicious npm package that impersonates the legitimate @prisma/fetch-engine, redirecting downloads of the Prisma query-engine binary to attacker-controlled GitHub repositories. Consumers installing this package and running Prisma execute arbitrary native code as the database engine process.
- Disclosed
- Last updated
- Blast radius
- Any developer or application that installed @vertexa/prisma-fetch-engine and ran Prisma tooling would execute attacker-controlled native code with database engine process privileges.
- Ecosystems
- Attack vectors
- Affected entities
- @vertexa/prisma-fetch-engineMalicious package impersonating @prisma/fetch-engine
The package @vertexa/prisma-fetch-engine was published on npm under the @vertexa scope but deliberately brands itself as @prisma/fetch-engine through its README, author metadata, and homepage URL. This is a typosquatting/impersonation attack targeting developers seeking the legitimate Prisma package.
The malicious package includes bundled code that redirects the Prisma query-engine binary download from the official binaries.prisma.sh CDN to attacker-controlled GitHub repositories (github.com/lh0x00/prisma/releases and variants). The downloaded binary is written to disk, made executable, and invoked by Prisma tooling as the database engine process.
No cryptographic verification (hash or signature checking) is performed on the downloaded binary. This allows the attacker to serve arbitrary native code that executes with the privileges of the database engine process whenever a consumer runs Prisma commands.
The attack was identified by the OpenSSF malicious-packages project and reported via GitHub Advisory GHSA-jm96-jrh7-hmmv.
Indicators of compromise
- Packages
- @vertexa/prisma-fetch-engine
- Domains
- github.com/lh0x00/prisma
- github.com/lh0x00/@lamhieu/prisma
Remediation
- Immediately uninstall @vertexa/prisma-fetch-engine from all projects
- Verify you are installing @prisma/fetch-engine from the official @prisma scope, not @vertexa
- If the malicious package was installed and Prisma was executed, assume the system may be compromised and perform a security audit
- Review npm package scope and author metadata before installing packages with similar names
- Use npm audit or similar tools to detect typosquatting packages in your dependency tree
Sources
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-jm96-jrh7-hmmv · GitHub Advisory Database
Cite this entry
"Malicious code in @vertexa/prisma-fetch-engine (npm)." supplychainattack.org, Supply Chain Attack Incident Catalog. Disclosed August 7, 2026; last updated August 7, 2026. https://supplychainattack.org/incident/malicious-code-in-vertexa-prisma-fetch-engine-npm-jt6872
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