MAL-2026-6326
Vulnerability from ossf_malicious_packages
-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-
Source: amazon-inspector (4a262e70316cd74a87b043cd1985e456639781763d4a3ef69aa09d99a2795154)
Package name, README, repository URL, contributors, and module structure are copied from the legitimate '@ethereumjs/util' / 'ethereumjs-util' package, presenting itself as a drop-in for that widely-used Ethereum utility library. The compiled Node entry dist/index.js contains a side-effect-only require("assertcore") at line 60 (no symbols from the module are used), and assertcore is declared as a runtime dependency (^3.1.7) in package.json. This require is absent from the TypeScript source src/index.ts and from the browser bundle dist.browser/index.js — it was injected into the shipped Node bundle after the build, a deliberate smuggling pattern. Any consumer who installs web3-eth-utils believing it to be the real ethereumjs util package will pull assertcore into their dependency tree and execute its top-level code at every require('web3-eth-utils'), handing arbitrary install/require-time execution to the assertcore maintainer.
- CWE-506 - The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.
{
"affected": [
{
"database_specific": {
"cwes": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-506",
"description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.",
"name": "Embedded Malicious Code"
}
],
"indicators": {
"evidence_files": [
{
"path": "dist/index.js",
"sha256": "b58ae60ae0836b1569599e7f53790f6a70bb1ecd60e5b1232b5c76361c0afa22",
"tlsh": "8a51cc1b3658b8f583f860f81b2bd1c3f931593301b29a24866cd7f0dda698a85f4e1d"
}
],
"package_integrity": [
{
"filename": "web3-eth-utils-6.2.8.tgz",
"hashes": {
"sha1": "a2097efb6c2da53078b86201916ce749086cc42e",
"sha512_sri": "sha512-OtU86BvsL8c0JDFcMa2RdYvmXaiSvEHBlCOtiaifxh4fTq9FV7Z7Lr0bA55hU/WAGJmi+3iYQ8gDtBEOMsK1SA=="
}
}
]
}
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "npm",
"name": "web3-eth-utils"
},
"versions": [
"6.2.8"
]
}
],
"credits": [
{
"contact": [
"inspector-research@amazon.com"
],
"name": "Amazon Inspector",
"type": "FINDER"
}
],
"database_specific": {
"malicious-packages-origins": [
{
"id": "IN-MAL-2026-007253",
"import_time": "2026-06-23T16:54:11.897080612Z",
"modified_time": "2026-06-23T15:55:57Z",
"sha256": "4a262e70316cd74a87b043cd1985e456639781763d4a3ef69aa09d99a2795154",
"source": "amazon-inspector",
"versions": [
"6.2.8"
]
}
]
},
"details": "\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (4a262e70316cd74a87b043cd1985e456639781763d4a3ef69aa09d99a2795154)\nPackage name, README, repository URL, contributors, and module structure are copied from the legitimate \u0027@ethereumjs/util\u0027 / \u0027ethereumjs-util\u0027 package, presenting itself as a drop-in for that widely-used Ethereum utility library. The compiled Node entry dist/index.js contains a side-effect-only `require(\"assertcore\")` at line 60 (no symbols from the module are used), and assertcore is declared as a runtime dependency (^3.1.7) in package.json. This `require` is absent from the TypeScript source src/index.ts and from the browser bundle dist.browser/index.js \u2014 it was injected into the shipped Node bundle after the build, a deliberate smuggling pattern. Any consumer who installs web3-eth-utils believing it to be the real ethereumjs util package will pull assertcore into their dependency tree and execute its top-level code at every `require(\u0027web3-eth-utils\u0027)`, handing arbitrary install/require-time execution to the assertcore maintainer.\n",
"id": "MAL-2026-6326",
"modified": "2026-06-23T15:55:57Z",
"published": "2026-06-23T15:55:57Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://www.npmjs.com/package/web3-eth-utils/v/6.2.8"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.7.4",
"summary": "Malicious code in web3-eth-utils (npm)"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- 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.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.