MAL-2026-18713
Vulnerability from ossf_malicious_packages – Updated: 2026-10-16 00:00 – Source website| Ecosystem | Package | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| npm |
rafael-bails
|
Affected: All versions (semver)
|
rafael-bails is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library that silently subscribes the installer's own authenticated WhatsApp account to an author-chosen WhatsApp Channel. Part of the campaign OX Security documented as "PhantomSub" (2026-09-28): https://www.ox.security/blog/phantomsub-malicious-npm-campaign-secretly-adds-users-to-whatsapp-spam-channels/ . Static read of the published 1.1.3 tarball on 2026-10-16 (not executed) found a hardcoded channel JID 120363401521242390@newsletter together with the newsletter FOLLOW query wired to run automatically after the socket connects, with errors suppressed. Same family as the withdrawn MAL-2026-4519 (chromestaff-baileys 1.1.3). Live on npm with no OSV record as of 2026-10-16.
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://www.ox.security/blog/phantomsub-malicious… | REPORT |
| https://www.npmjs.com/package/rafael-bails | PACKAGE |
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "npm",
"name": "rafael-bails"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
}
],
"type": "SEMVER"
}
]
}
],
"credits": [
{
"contact": [
"https://www.ox.security/blog/phantomsub-malicious-npm-campaign-secretly-adds-users-to-whatsapp-spam-channels/"
],
"name": "OX Security",
"type": "FINDER"
},
{
"contact": [
"mailto:patrick@dugganusa.com"
],
"name": "Patrick Duggan, DugganUSA",
"type": "REPORTER"
}
],
"details": "rafael-bails is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library that silently subscribes the installer\u0027s own authenticated WhatsApp account to an author-chosen WhatsApp Channel. Part of the campaign OX Security documented as \"PhantomSub\" (2026-09-28): https://www.ox.security/blog/phantomsub-malicious-npm-campaign-secretly-adds-users-to-whatsapp-spam-channels/ . Static read of the published 1.1.3 tarball on 2026-10-16 (not executed) found a hardcoded channel JID 120363401521242390@newsletter together with the newsletter FOLLOW query wired to run automatically after the socket connects, with errors suppressed. Same family as the withdrawn MAL-2026-4519 (chromestaff-baileys 1.1.3). Live on npm with no OSV record as of 2026-10-16.",
"id": "MAL-2026-18713",
"modified": "2026-10-16T00:00:00Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "REPORT",
"url": "https://www.ox.security/blog/phantomsub-malicious-npm-campaign-secretly-adds-users-to-whatsapp-spam-channels/"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://www.npmjs.com/package/rafael-bails"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.7.4",
"summary": "Malicious code in rafael-bails (npm)"
}
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Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
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- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
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- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Vulnerability timeline
Sightings and recorded dates, grouped by day · UTC
How durations are calculated
Following the VTEM framework (Black Hat USA 2015), time to patch starts when the vendor or a coordinator was informed, total time to patch at discovery, and disclosure to patch at public disclosure; vendor response time runs from the report to its acknowledgement. Time to exploit and time unpatched start at the earliest discovery or report, falling back to public disclosure. Unpatched time ends at the first recorded patch, or the calculation time when no patch is recorded. Exploitation to patch shows the interval between those two events; a published proof of concept is a public exploit, not exploitation.
Each result shows its source dates. A negative interval means the end event came first; when date-only inputs leave the order open, the result says so. Date-only inputs are approximate. The earliest evidence wins: KEV report dates and sightings are labelled as such. Records describing another vulnerability are listed but never calculated from, and a PoC alone does not establish exploitation. Missing patch evidence does not prove that no patch exists. Filters below change the event list only.
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