{"id":"MAL-2026-17636","revision":null,"records":[{"revision":"93e40f82fd864b21b627a9dbfcc3ba04","observedAt":"2026-10-24T13:17:17.793+00:00","statement":{"source":"osv","id":"MAL-2026-17636","aliases":[],"title":"Malicious code in hardhat-init (npm)","description":"\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (e2f570102756d04aa466677488cd13aacac2eb941176523bc4ff024d214affbb)\nThe npm package hardhat-init presents itself as Hardhat initialization tooling and ships a README, LICENSE, and index.d.ts copied from the pino logger project with the name substituted. The main entry index.js requires./lib/config at the top level, which triggers a ~4.3MB heavily obfuscated JavaScript file (lib/config.js) whose top-level IIFE executes immediately on module load. The obfuscation uses hex-escaped string tables, nested index-lookup helpers, and a string-array shuffler consistent with obfuscator.io output, with no plaintext surface describing the behavior. The exported index.js is a trivial no-op that does not consume anything from lib/config, so the sole effect of loading the package is to execute the opaque payload. The combination of a name/content mismatch (hardhat-init vs. copied pino scaffolding), an oversized obfuscated sibling file with no legitimate purpose for an init helper, and auto-execution on require is a typosquat loader shape that causes arbitrary attacker-controlled code to run on the installer's machine the first time any consumer imports the package.\n","state":0,"publishedAt":"2026-10-06T04:27:56+00:00","modifiedAt":"2026-10-06T05:00:04.1720359+00:00","affected":[{"ecosystem":"npm","name":"hardhat-init","ranges":[],"versions":["2.21.0"],"rawVersionEvidence":null}],"metrics":[],"references":["https://www.npmjs.com/package/hardhat-init/v/2.21.0"],"sourceUrl":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17636","license":"OSV · upstream source license applies","key":"osv:MAL-2026-17636","identifiers":["MAL-2026-17636"]},"retained":false,"historicalAffected":[]}],"coverage":[{"source":"cisa-kev:global","scope":"Complete CISA KEV catalog; all vendors. Missing entries do not establish absence of exploitation.","generation":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.1371819+00:00","complete":true,"records":1779,"lastAttemptAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.1371819+00:00","lastSuccessAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.3319702+00:00","error":null,"lastVerifiedAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.3319715+00:00","snapshotPublishedAt":null,"importing":false,"stagedRecords":0,"checkedIdentifiers":null,"expectedIdentifiers":null,"failedIdentifiers":null},{"source":"cve-program","scope":"Official CVE Program baseline and cumulative hourly delta; all vendors, published and rejected records","generation":"cve-de3b77103708811b6494d2ff7c979037d73ae579742cd1649a5c765137ae5083-f7a27b6686d027a29d541c1a67c85e77c8818c1542bd9e626ca104d5a08b6cff","complete":true,"records":424160,"lastAttemptAt":"2026-11-11T15:57:33.081355+00:00","lastSuccessAt":"2026-11-11T15:57:32.9249839+00:00","error":null,"lastVerifiedAt":"2026-11-11T15:57:33.081355+00:00","snapshotPublishedAt":"2026-11-11T15:27:38+00:00","importing":false,"stagedRecords":0,"checkedIdentifiers":null,"expectedIdentifiers":null,"failedIdentifiers":null},{"source":"euvd","scope":"Rolling EUVD lookups of CVE aliases in current public OSV archives; 500 identifiers per refresh, rechecked after 48 hours. Not a global EUVD catalog. Successful not-found lookups count as checked; they do not imply withdrawal or safety. No reader inventory is sent.","generation":"enrichment-fbe6382b6d1e4810ad598ca4b39b1839","complete":false,"records":13759,"lastAttemptAt":"2026-11-11T16:11:34.900804+00:00","lastSuccessAt":"2026-11-11T16:11:34.895+00:00","error":"8 identifier lookups failed; latest failures include HTTP 403. Other identifiers were checked independently.","lastVerifiedAt":"2026-11-11T16:11:34.895+00:00","snapshotPublishedAt":null,"importing":false,"stagedRecords":0,"checkedIdentifiers":13527,"expectedIdentifiers":13813,"failedIdentifiers":8},{"source":"first-epss:nuget","scope":"FIRST EPSS for explicit CVE aliases in the collected public NuGet archive. Not a global EPSS backfill.","generation":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.1371819+00:00","complete":true,"records":1097,"lastAttemptAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.1371819+00:00","lastSuccessAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.3328867+00:00","error":null,"lastVerifiedAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.332887+00:00","snapshotPublishedAt":null,"importing":false,"stagedRecords":0,"checkedIdentifiers":null,"expectedIdentifiers":null,"failedIdentifiers":null},{"source":"nvd","scope":"Rolling NVD lookups of CVE aliases in current public OSV archives; 500 identifiers per refresh, rechecked after 48 hours. Not a global NVD catalog. Successful not-found lookups count as checked; they do not imply withdrawal or safety. No reader inventory is sent.","generation":"enrichment-83d5ee721aa54b298ac0e478691d5c53","complete":true,"records":13753,"lastAttemptAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:30.4109764+00:00","lastSuccessAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:30.407+00:00","error":null,"lastVerifiedAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:30.407+00:00","snapshotPublishedAt":null,"importing":false,"stagedRecords":0,"checkedIdentifiers":13813,"expectedIdentifiers":13813,"failedIdentifiers":0},{"source":"osv:Go","scope":"Complete OSV Go ecosystem archive, including withdrawn and malicious-package source records; statement counts are not unique CVE counts","generation":"go-3562b6c78fd1bd0f0b55daf66a0926ae24f65e462df7f6d928caad458fc696bf","complete":true,"records":9947,"lastAttemptAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:28.9781944+00:00","lastSuccessAt":"2026-11-11T04:27:43.6877707+00:00","error":null,"lastVerifiedAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:28.9781944+00:00","snapshotPublishedAt":"2026-11-11T03:32:46+00:00","importing":false,"stagedRecords":0,"checkedIdentifiers":null,"expectedIdentifiers":null,"failedIdentifiers":null},{"source":"osv:NuGet","scope":"Complete OSV NuGet ecosystem archive, including GitHub Advisory Database records; NuGet version matching only","generation":"nuget-456002455e0ab94bb92c95476d4e6d175c104cd594749982afd96c893728ecbc","complete":true,"records":2010,"lastAttemptAt":"2026-11-11T15:57:33.229994+00:00","lastSuccessAt":"2026-11-11T02:36:58.1276999+00:00","error":null,"lastVerifiedAt":"2026-11-11T15:57:33.229994+00:00","snapshotPublishedAt":"2026-11-11T01:17:51+00:00","importing":false,"stagedRecords":0,"checkedIdentifiers":null,"expectedIdentifiers":null,"failedIdentifiers":null},{"source":"osv:crates.io","scope":"Complete OSV crates.io ecosystem archive, including withdrawn and malicious-package source records; statement counts are not unique CVE counts","generation":"crates.io-baa8362b4daf9e5f39d5563775a55935e7b442c0735d33274a921579ce4a0d66","complete":true,"records":3093,"lastAttemptAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.0795742+00:00","lastSuccessAt":"2026-11-11T13:00:02.5446881+00:00","error":null,"lastVerifiedAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:29.0795742+00:00","snapshotPublishedAt":"2026-11-11T12:47:47+00:00","importing":false,"stagedRecords":0,"checkedIdentifiers":null,"expectedIdentifiers":null,"failedIdentifiers":null},{"source":"osv:npm","scope":"Complete OSV npm ecosystem archive, including withdrawn and malicious-package source records; statement counts are not unique CVE counts","generation":"npm-eb69eb75f2b568fd8be458efa2db8e11aac201724ba0b44fa3f79c386f195e15","complete":true,"records":231668,"lastAttemptAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:28.847182+00:00","lastSuccessAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:27.3458308+00:00","error":null,"lastVerifiedAt":"2026-11-11T15:59:28.847182+00:00","snapshotPublishedAt":"2026-11-11T15:33:06+00:00","importing":false,"stagedRecords":0,"checkedIdentifiers":null,"expectedIdentifiers":null,"failedIdentifiers":null}]}