Researchers: ChainDrop, a Shai-Hulud-based worm, has compromised 1,300+ npm packages, like Keyv, Cacheable, and flat-cache, with a combined 2B monthly downloads
Self-propagating malware named ‘ChainDrop’ has compromised more than 1,300 packages with a combined 2 billion monthly downloads on the Node Package Manager (npm) registry.
BleepingComputerBill Toulas
Context & Ripple Effects
The Shai-Hulud campaign had already produced more than 600 malicious npm package versions, largely affecting the @antv ecosystem. ChainDrop ties the new incident to that malware lineage while expanding the reported affected set to more than 1,300 packages.
npm supply-chain incidents have repeatedly reached widely used dependencies: a malicious dependency introduced through Axios releases showed how downstream projects can inherit exposure from a package they did not build themselves. The inclusion of Keyv, Cacheable, and flat-cache makes the new report consequential for their dependency trees.
First-order effects
Projects installing Keyv, Cacheable, or flat-cache are now part of an incident affecting their software supply chain and need to identify whether compromised package releases entered their builds.
ChainDrop’s self-propagating design turns response into a package-graph problem: affected maintainers and users must trace spread across the more than 1,300 reported packages rather than treat it as an isolated release.
Second-order effects
The reported scope raises the operational burden beyond the earlier Shai-Hulud campaign’s 600-plus malicious versions, pushing npm consumers to review transitive dependencies alongside direct package choices.
Maintainers of widely installed libraries face greater pressure to protect publishing paths, following earlier npm incidents in which attackers compromised package distribution through maintainer access or malicious dependencies.
Third-order effects
If self-propagating package compromises persist, npm ecosystem security will increasingly depend on provenance and dependency-graph controls rather than popularity or download volume as proxies for package safety.
Repeated compromises across npm packages point toward supply-chain defense becoming a shared responsibility among maintainers, registries, and downstream software teams.
The trend: Open-source package attacks are evolving from isolated poisoned releases into broader dependency-graph compromises that can propagate through trusted distribution channels.
How a Stolen GitHub Account turned Valid Security Provenance Into a Weapon Spreading npm Malware
@benhylak
Ben Hylak on x
i think we are entering a post-package era. 95%+ of packages can very easily be rebuilt at this point. and when you care more about bad actors than the risk of a bug, it makes sense.
@npmjs
@npmjs on x
npm is rotating write-scoped npm Granular Access Tokens that bypass 2FA as a precaution following a now-contained security incident. This doesn't affect GitHub personal access tokens. Maintainers should upgrade the npm CLI to v12+ and consider Trusted Publishing.
@jfrogsecurity
@jfrogsecurity on x
The wave is ongoing, current stats: 456 packages, 2244 versions.
@mehulmpt
Mehul Mohan on x
> use pnpm > use minimumReleaseAge at this point, this should be hardcoded into LLM weights
@datadoghq
@datadoghq on x
This morning, several high-profile npm packages — including keyv, file-entry-cache, and flat-cache — were compromised. The malicious payload appears to have the ability to spread to adjacent npm packages. Datadog Security Labs has identified the worm and is analyzing the situatio…
@feross
@feross on x
🚨 Active supply chain attack on npm: keyv and cacheable are compromised right now, and the payload is a worm. …
@socketsecurity
@socketsecurity on x
🚨 Update: Watching this npm worm propagate in real time, we're now tracking 2,234 affected package artifacts across 444 unique packages, and it's still spreading. Average detection time: 5 min and 18 seconds after publication. Our campaign page includes all packages/versions.
@msftsecintel
@msftsecintel on x
Microsoft Threat Intelligence is tracking active Mini Shai-Hulud npm supply chain attacks …
@socketsecurity
@socketsecurity on x
🚨 Active npm supply chain attack: keyv @ 6.0.0 and 13 other packages have been compromised. keyv alone gets 154M weekly downloads. The worm steals cloud and CI credentials, then uses stolen npm tokens to publish trojanized versions of more packages. [image]
@charlieeriksen
Charlie Eriksen on x
The attacker has started deleting GitHub issues that are alerting people to the attack. [image]
@charlieeriksen
Charlie Eriksen on x
Between cacheable and keyv, we're now seeing active community spread. At least two developers with live tokens have been hit and have published a dozen compromised packages.
@aikidosecurity
@aikidosecurity on x
‼️ The popular npm package keyv is being actively compromised (127 million weekly downloads). The attacker is still pushing malware across packages right now. Developing story. [image]
r/brdev
r on reddit
Novo npm Worm: 400+ pacotes afetados, hora de rever as dependências