research-probe-6150c1c915

{"schema_version":"1.7.4","id":"MAL-2026-18097","published":"2026-10-20T15:52:54Z","modified":"2026-10-29T13:38:41.512920547Z","summary":"Malicious code in research-probe-6150c1c915 (PyPI)","details":"\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (3696b3aaa62ad07c027d3471a6061628fe63f07faa135887342362ceb424e604)\nThe package ships a `.pth` file that imports `research_probe_6150c1c915._boot` on every Python interpreter startup, with no explicit import by the user required. `_boot.py` executes `bootstrap()` which snapshots the full `os.environ`, enumerates `/proc/*/cmdline` for up to 200 processes, and queries the GCP instance metadata service at `http://169.254.169.254/computeMetadata/v1/?recursive=true` and `.../service-accounts/default/email` with the `Metadata-Flavor: Google` header. The `recursive=true` metadata query on a GCE/GKE/Cloud Run host returns service-account OAuth access tokens and other credential material. Collected data (environment variables and metadata responses, including any returned tokens) is written as JSON to `/tmp/research_probe_6150c1c915/` and to a `_runs/` directory inside the installed package. The `/tmp` destination is world-readable on default Linux configurations, so any local account on the same host can read the harvested cloud credentials and environment. The `.pth` auto-execution mechanism makes this fire on every Python invocation after install, not just when the module is imported.\n\n## Source: kam193 (a646eaf4fe72ba013abc53d52c0bf017a9c4f3bfc54a8c358f9f246d3ac41945)\nThe package is most likely a reconnaissance of a shared infrastructure, collecting potentially sensitive data from cloud endpoints, activated via a PTH file on every Python loading. Collected data are stored in a local filesystem, suggesting the operator has to have some degree of control of the environment.\n\n\n---\n\nCategory: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.\n\n\nCampaign: 2026-10-omeraf\n\n\nReasons (based on the campaign):\n\n\n - exfiltration-cloud-tokens\n\n\n - The package contains code to exfiltrate basic data from the system, like IP or username. It has a limited risk.\n\n\n - other\n\n\n - abuses-pth\n","affected":[{"package":{"name":"research-probe-6150c1c915","ecosystem":"PyPI"},"versions":["0.1.0"],"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":"research_probe_6150c1c915/_boot.py","sha256":"5ef2c2608144282edc962f2c1e7b25bc2b71f48d435bf7bcdb2b5791c4079445","tlsh":"99b17459ac15b093c383d68c4521dae5775b3e0fa1017838faeca724bf4843692f56ca"}],"package_integrity":[{"filename":"research_probe_6150c1c915-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl","hashes":{"blake2b_256":"2c9047af91adaeaa89747f8896cd648c0327c1094efa044468fc72ba20b70ad6","md5":"e64d9a1af821bd71c0f5ae616a69774e","sha256":"41a92c287f5b6e54387a808456d18d8086ba7176e1aeb1713bba737132e12773"}}]}}}],"references":[{"type":"WEB","url":"https://bad-packages.kam193.eu/pypi/package/research-probe-6150c1c915"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://pypi.org/project/research-probe-6150c1c915/0.1.0/"}],"database_specific":{"malicious-packages-origins":[{"id":"pypi/2026-10-omeraf/research-probe-6150c1c915","import_time":"2026-10-20T16:20:35.319869376Z","modified_time":"2026-10-20T15:52:54.465409Z","sha256":"a646eaf4fe72ba013abc53d52c0bf017a9c4f3bfc54a8c358f9f246d3ac41945","source":"kam193","versions":["0.1.0"]},{"id":"IN-MAL-2026-021894","import_time":"2026-10-29T13:37:15.437361637Z","modified_time":"2026-10-29T13:21:52Z","sha256":"3696b3aaa62ad07c027d3471a6061628fe63f07faa135887342362ceb424e604","source":"amazon-inspector","versions":["0.1.0"]}]},"credits":[{"name":"Amazon Inspector","contact":["inspector-research@amazon.com"],"type":"FINDER"},{"name":"Kamil Mańkowski (kam193)","contact":["https://github.com/kam193","https://bad-packages.kam193.eu/"],"type":"REPORTER"}]}