Checkmarx uncovers persistent Python package threat

Checkmarx has uncovered a threat actor that has been quietly infiltrating the open-source ecosystem for nearly six months, planting malicious Python packages with a focus on deception and financial gain.

The malicious actor employed a systematic approach, disguising their packages with names closely resembling popular legitimate Python packages. These decoy packages, camouflaged to blend in, successfully garnered thousands of downloads. The malicious payload, embedded within the...

16 November 2023 | Developer

Sonatype uncovers further malicious PyPI and npm packages

Sonatype continues to uncover a significant number of malicious packages within the PyPI and npm software registries.

Among the flagged packages were several Python packages published on PyPI, masquerading as legitimate libraries named after the popular npm "colors" library.

The malicious packages, including names such as "broke-rcl," "brokescolors," and "trexcolors," exclusively targeted the Windows operating system. Once installed, these packages would initiate the...

23 June 2023 | Developer

Large-scale supply chain attack used 218 malicious NPM packages

A large-scale supply chain attack has been uncovered that used 218 malicious NPM packages.

Researchers from JFrog claim that several of their automated analysers started throwing up alerts regarding a set of packages in the npm registry earlier this week.

Over a few days, the number of packages swelled from around 50 packages to more than 200 (as of March 21st).

The researchers manually analysed the packages and found that it was a targeted attack against the...

24 March 2022 | Hacking & Security