monte-md-baileys

{"schema_version":"1.7.4","id":"MAL-2026-17399","published":"2026-10-29T13:34:51Z","modified":"2026-10-29T13:38:37.735534977Z","summary":"Malicious code in monte-md-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: monte-md-baileys (npm), version(s): 1.0.0.\n\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (489128924ea1bbd77b6e22bb1e8e2457b3e8c2c97caceb78d5fa3a029cde5104)\nmonte-md-baileys is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp library. In lib/Socket/newsletter.js, a ws.on('open') handler silently issues a newsletter FOLLOW query for a hardcoded JID (120363407598531220@newsletter) one second after the WhatsApp WebSocket connects, causing the installer's authenticated WhatsApp session to auto-subscribe to the maintainer's channel. The behavior is not disclosed in the README and fires on every socket connect. No credential exfiltration, remote code execution, filesystem persistence, or environment scraping is observed; the covert side-effect is confined to a reach-padding action performed with the installer's WhatsApp identity.\n","affected":[{"package":{"name":"monte-md-baileys","ecosystem":"npm"},"ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"}]}],"versions":["1.0.0"],"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":"lib/Socket/newsletter.js","sha256":"e118d0f89016ef9179441a878d25a7d5c50f16981f5bbf175b30b07800215767","tlsh":"a632535a55ba5a6506b37454977ff0e0b325b3033865e8623f8c94021f0b1dda8f3bda"}],"package_integrity":[{"filename":"monte-md-baileys-1.0.0.tgz","hashes":{"sha1":"7c47bd0744db59657b6dd3c17e915de31236c028","sha512_sri":"sha512-1JKZGGd3/AkB6ZUYBpAY3iZhfc3zVELJHvD+SXpR7NjGjkVZIuIPnsr7iOrESIdhrltppXJIyVK6l5yBlwzBkA=="}}]}}}],"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/monte-md-baileys/v/1.0.0"}],"database_specific":{"malicious-packages-origins":[{"id":"IN-MAL-2026-021992","import_time":"2026-10-29T13:37:18.968112045Z","modified_time":"2026-10-29T13:34:51Z","sha256":"489128924ea1bbd77b6e22bb1e8e2457b3e8c2c97caceb78d5fa3a029cde5104","source":"amazon-inspector","versions":["1.0.0"]}]},"credits":[{"name":"Amazon Inspector","contact":["inspector-research@amazon.com"],"type":"FINDER"},{"name":"OX Security","type":"FINDER"}]}