{"id":"MAL-2026-17342","revision":"a1dc42c20a7d49ec996b9e428e68144f","records":[{"revision":"a1dc42c20a7d49ec996b9e428e68144f","observedAt":"2026-10-24T13:17:17.793+00:00","statement":{"source":"osv","id":"MAL-2026-17342","aliases":[],"title":"Malicious code in @bellaxchuu/belbails (npm)","description":"This package is part of a large family (100+ identified as of September 2026) of near-identical\nforks of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library that inject a covert channel-subscription action into\nthe WhatsApp socket layer. On connect, the injected code issues an authenticated `w:mex` FOLLOW\nquery (query_id 7871414976211147) against one or more attacker-chosen WhatsApp Channel/Newsletter\nJIDs, using the installer's own authenticated WhatsApp session -- silently subscribing the\nvictim's account to channels it never asked to join.\n\nThe target JID(s) are hidden from casual source review via one of several obfuscation techniques\nobserved across the family: a plain string literal, base64 encoding, base64+XOR, or a char-code\narray reconstructed at runtime. Some variants instead fetch a mutable, attacker-controlled remote\nJSON/JS list of target JIDs from GitHub or another host at runtime, letting the target list change\nafter installation without a new npm publish. Every sample in the family shares the same underlying\nmechanism (a wrapped/patched socket-connect routine that fires the FOLLOW query some seconds after\nconnect), even though the package name, JID value(s), and obfuscation/delivery method differ per\nfork.\n\nThe malicious action abuses the installer's own authenticated WhatsApp session to gain reach and\nsubscribers for attacker-controlled channels; it does not exfiltrate credentials, establish\npersistence, or execute arbitrary remote code.\n\nAffected package: @bellaxchuu/belbails (npm), version(s): 1.0.1.\n\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (597ff47692113a399e64ec9a51aa5fed8f7372d20c2a1560b2528b357000d9bf)\nThe package was found to contain malicious code or consuming dependency that contains malicious code\n","state":0,"publishedAt":"2026-10-08T05:45:47+00:00","modifiedAt":"2026-10-08T06:00:04.8049446+00:00","affected":[{"ecosystem":"npm","name":"@bellaxchuu/belbails","ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"kind":"introduced","version":"0"}]}],"versions":["1.0.1"],"rawVersionEvidence":null}],"metrics":[],"references":["https://www.ox.security/blog/phantomsub-malicious-npm-campaign-secretly-adds-users-to-whatsapp-spam-channels/","https://www.npmjs.com/package/@bellaxchuu/belbails/v/1.0.1"],"sourceUrl":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17342","license":"OSV · upstream source license applies","key":"osv:MAL-2026-17342","identifiers":["MAL-2026-17342"]},"retained":false,"historicalAffected":[]}],"coverage":[]}