saturn-baileys

{"schema_version":"1.7.4","id":"MAL-2026-17404","published":"2026-10-04T23:22:25Z","modified":"2026-10-04T23:42:39.632988899Z","summary":"Malicious code in saturn-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: saturn-baileys (npm), version(s): 1.0.0.\n\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (098af0c774d7e3d1a8b2da57e35d5e2686e2149ad6f01fa13803cd1a54325058)\nsaturn-baileys is a fork of the Baileys WhatsApp library. In lib/Socket/messages-send.js at lines 425 and 436, a network destination is reconstructed at runtime from a String.fromCharCode(...) decimal array rather than appearing as a plain string literal. The decoded value is the URL https://fiora.nixel.my.id/. The obfuscation is placed inside the message-send code path of a messaging library that handles user credentials, session data, and message content, and the destination is not a documented WhatsApp/Baileys endpoint. Reconstructing a hardcoded non-first-party host via char-code decoding inside a send routine is the exfiltration/silent-relay shape for messaging-library trojans and is inconsistent with any legitimate use in this location.\n","affected":[{"package":{"name":"saturn-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/messages-send.js","sha256":"a62ea8d3d1172824095369efa66412a189a70812354a8d5790b4e9d50004a376","tlsh":"ee63926508fb192a4623b0b57e6bb401b134d0077148ec69ff8c86e85f8a464e6f7bdd"}],"package_integrity":[{"filename":"saturn-baileys-1.0.0.tgz","hashes":{"sha1":"913a82b3b9439c78313c688855249fa126f72a64","sha512_sri":"sha512-BWkMVxsHXNHgK4Qn4J86afFRK0ZLtzUZCJRCZi/xyuEq0lXbYW6NvuqoHz9Y2TTZVgUkZU69Axu56N3IPyXqkQ=="}}]}}}],"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/saturn-baileys/v/1.0.0"}],"database_specific":{"malicious-packages-origins":[{"id":"IN-MAL-2026-020935","import_time":"2026-10-04T23:40:43.648319778Z","modified_time":"2026-10-04T23:22:25Z","sha256":"098af0c774d7e3d1a8b2da57e35d5e2686e2149ad6f01fa13803cd1a54325058","source":"amazon-inspector","versions":["1.0.0"]}]},"credits":[{"name":"Amazon Inspector","contact":["inspector-research@amazon.com"],"type":"FINDER"},{"name":"OX Security","type":"FINDER"}]}