@badzz88/baileys

{"schema_version":"1.7.4","id":"MAL-2026-17341","published":"2026-10-06T04:00:48Z","modified":"2026-10-12T16:32:21.241120399Z","aliases":["GHSA-884c-mw3w-x2wg"],"summary":"Malicious code in @badzz88/baileys (npm)","details":"This package is part of a large family (100+ identified as of September 2026) of near-identical\nforks of the Baileys WhatsApp Web library that inject a covert channel-subscription action into\nthe WhatsApp socket layer. On connect, the injected code issues an authenticated `w:mex` FOLLOW\nquery (query_id 7871414976211147) against one or more attacker-chosen WhatsApp Channel/Newsletter\nJIDs, using the installer's own authenticated WhatsApp session -- silently subscribing the\nvictim's account to channels it never asked to join.\n\nThe target JID(s) are hidden from casual source review via one of several obfuscation techniques\nobserved across the family: a plain string literal, base64 encoding, base64+XOR, or a char-code\narray reconstructed at runtime. Some variants instead fetch a mutable, attacker-controlled remote\nJSON/JS list of target JIDs from GitHub or another host at runtime, letting the target list change\nafter installation without a new npm publish. Every sample in the family shares the same underlying\nmechanism (a wrapped/patched socket-connect routine that fires the FOLLOW query some seconds after\nconnect), even though the package name, JID value(s), and obfuscation/delivery method differ per\nfork.\n\nThe malicious action abuses the installer's own authenticated WhatsApp session to gain reach and\nsubscribers for attacker-controlled channels; it does not exfiltrate credentials, establish\npersistence, or execute arbitrary remote code.\n\nAffected package: @badzz88/baileys (npm), version(s): 8.5.9, 8.5.7, 8.5.5, 8.5.4, 8.5.3, 8.5.2, 8.5.1.\n\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (8c4fc02c3ef351d891d52e60719cbd702d2f6a1db2d00847ac02ae7928de67b9)\npackage.json declares a required runtime dependency `whatsapp-rust-bridge-baron` resolved to `github:7ucg/whatsapp-rust-bridge` with no commit SHA, tag, or integrity hash. On `npm install`, npm fetches the current default-branch HEAD of that repository and installs it into node_modules. The GitHub account `7ucg` is not the publisher of this npm package (published under `Badzz88`), so an unrelated third party controls the code that lands on the installer's machine. The bridge module is required throughout the crypto, decode, and Noise-handler paths, so its code executes as soon as a consumer imports the package. Because the source is a mutable branch owned by a non-publisher account, the fetched bytes can change silently between installs, and there is no verification that today's HEAD matches any previously reviewed content. This is the classic unpinned-mutable-source install-time code-execution channel. Additional network/child_process/os primitives referenced in src/Utils/generics.js and src/Utils/messages-media.js are consistent with the upstream Baileys library shape (media download, ping-based connectivity checks) and are not by themselves evidence of exfiltration in this fork.\n\n## Source: ghsa-malware (2d3f800b53b44569a67700d114cd6a6d9488ecb897ab181d78d809f7bd0c32d7)\nAny computer that has this package installed or running should be considered fully compromised. All secrets and keys stored on that computer should be rotated immediately from a different computer. The package should be removed, but as full control of the computer may have been given to an outside entity, there is no guarantee that removing the package will remove all malicious software resulting from installing it.\n","affected":[{"package":{"name":"@badzz88/baileys","ecosystem":"npm"},"ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["8.5.9","8.5.7","8.5.5","8.5.4","8.5.3","8.5.2","8.5.1","8.4.9","8.6.0"],"database_specific":{"cwes":[{"cweId":"CWE-506","description":"The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.","name":"Embedded Malicious Code"},{"cweId":"CWE-506","description":"The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.","name":"Embedded Malicious Code"},{"cweId":"CWE-506","description":"The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.","name":"Embedded Malicious Code"}],"indicators":{"evidence_files":[{"path":"package.json","sha256":"83d310f6ed1deaf41af90c4547102eeef09f548fd9592ed6ce55743d00dc3f20","tlsh":"3d51f075cc18cd6306c666deb879524164281d475c82fc2cb3a943ad8f1d29f32b5b7c"}],"package_integrity":[{"filename":"baileys-8.4.9.tgz","hashes":{"sha1":"8856be686093fd186ae1e8e9e3f601cc23edcbe9","sha512_sri":"sha512-4+efijE8gsSqSFzr0Jvs4+iVqF+7q5ZYFJTC4e/CNqrttEO84XPQuH10BrIUhT81CH7wT+YAk5IF9vwYIhRrRQ=="}}]}}}],"references":[{"type":"ARTICLE","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/@badzz88/baileys/v/8.4.9"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://www.npmjs.com/package/@badzz88/baileys/v/8.6.0"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-884c-mw3w-x2wg"}],"database_specific":{"malicious-packages-origins":[{"id":"IN-MAL-2026-021095","import_time":"2026-10-06T04:22:56.624357377Z","modified_time":"2026-10-06T04:00:48Z","sha256":"8c4fc02c3ef351d891d52e60719cbd702d2f6a1db2d00847ac02ae7928de67b9","source":"amazon-inspector","versions":["8.4.9"]},{"id":"IN-MAL-2026-021096","import_time":"2026-10-06T04:22:56.687395631Z","modified_time":"2026-10-06T04:02:12Z","sha256":"c3bccadaa96c2ad529ff66b4cfaa19f5711a9443f9754aabc4f4abc9c580a81d","source":"amazon-inspector","versions":["8.6.0"]},{"id":"GHSA-884c-mw3w-x2wg","import_time":"2026-10-12T16:30:26.937980701Z","modified_time":"2026-10-12T15:36:40Z","ranges":[{"events":[{"introduced":"0"}],"type":"SEMVER"}],"sha256":"2d3f800b53b44569a67700d114cd6a6d9488ecb897ab181d78d809f7bd0c32d7","source":"ghsa-malware"}]},"credits":[{"name":"Amazon Inspector","contact":["inspector-research@amazon.com"],"type":"FINDER"},{"name":"OX Security","type":"FINDER"}]}