GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53: Flatmap stream Malicious Package Vulnerability

CRITICAL
CVSS 9.8
CWE-506
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) malicious package vulnerability (CWE-506: Embedded Malicious Code) affecting Flatmap stream libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves malicious package in flatmap-stream. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53 at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-506: Embedded Malicious Code
Affected Product Flatmap stream
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Flatmap stream dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

flatmap-stream fixed: Latest secure release
npm install flatmap-stream@Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

npm ls flatmap-stream

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls flatmap-stream

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Flatmap stream in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls flatmap-stream command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-506: Embedded Malicious Code, where the product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature. In Flatmap stream, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Version 0.1.1 of `flatmap-stream` is considered malicious. This module runs an encrypted payload targeting a very specific application, `copay` and because they shared the same description it would have likely worked for `copay-dash`. The injected code: - Read in AES encrypted data from a file disguised as a test fixture - Grabbed the npm package description of the module that imported it, using an automatically set environment variable - Used the package description as a key to decrypt a chunk of data pulled in from the disguised file The decrypted data was part of a module, which was then compiled in memory and executed. This module performed the following actions: - Decrypted another chunk of data from the disguised file - Concatenated a small, commented prefix from the first decrypted chunk to the end of the second decrypted chunk - Performed minor decoding tasks to transform the concatenated block of code from invalid JS to valid JS (we believe this was done to evade detection by dynamic analysis tools) - Wrote this processed block of JS out to a file stored in a dependency that would be packaged by the build scripts: The chunk of code that was written out was the actual malicious code, intended to be run on devices owned by the end users of Copay. This code would do the following: - Detect the current environment: Mobile/Cordova/Electron - Check the Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash balances on the victim's copay account - If the current balance was greater than 100 Bitcoin, or 1000 Bitcoin Cash: - Harvest the victim's account data in full - Harvest the victim's copay private keys - Send the victim's account data/private keys off to a collection ## Recommendation If you find this module in your environment it's best to remove it. The malicious version of event-stream and flatmap-stream have been removed from the npm Registry.

GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53 Affected Flatmap stream Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
flatmap-stream
npm
0.1.1
All 1 versions
0.1.1
None specified

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53?
GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53 is a security vulnerability in Flatmap stream involving Malicious Package in flatmap-stream under CWE-506: Embedded Malicious Code.
Which Flatmap stream versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: flatmap-stream.
What version fixes GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is flatmap-stream affected?
Yes, flatmap-stream is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53?
GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53?
GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53 is classified under CWE-506: Embedded Malicious Code (The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.).
How can I check npm dependencies for GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls flatmap-stream'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-9x64-5r7x-2q53",
  "modified" : "2021-10-01T13:30:04Z",
  "published" : "2020-09-01T21:21:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "Malicious Package in flatmap-stream",
  "details" : "Version 0.1.1 of `flatmap-stream` is considered malicious.\n\nThis module runs an encrypted payload targeting a very specific application, `copay` and because they shared the same description it would have likely worked for `copay-dash`.\n\nThe injected code:\n\n- Read in AES encrypted data from a file disguised as a test fixture\n- Grabbed the npm package description of the module that imported it, using an automatically set environment variable\n- Used the package description as a key to decrypt a chunk of data pulled in from the disguised file\n\nThe decrypted data was part of a module, which was then compiled in memory and executed.\n\nThis module performed the following actions:\n\n- Decrypted another chunk of data from the disguised file\n- Concatenated a small, commented prefix from the first decrypted chunk to the end of the second decrypted chunk\n- Performed minor decoding tasks to transform the concatenated block of code from invalid JS to valid JS (we believe this was done to evade detection by dynamic analysis tools)\n- Wrote this processed block of JS out to a file stored in a dependency that would be packaged by the build scripts: \n\nThe chunk of code that was written out was the actual malicious code, intended to be run on devices owned by the end users of Copay.\n\nThis code would do the following:\n\n- Detect the current environment: Mobile/Cordova/Electron\n- Check the Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash balances on the victim's copay account\n- If the current balance was greater than 100 Bitcoin, or 1000 Bitcoin Cash:\n  - Harvest the victim's account data in full\n  - Harvest the victim's copay private keys\n  - Send the victim's account data/private keys off to a collection\n\n\n## Recommendation\n\nIf you find this module in your environment it's best to remove it. The malicious version of event-stream and flatmap-stream have been removed from the npm Registry.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "flatmap-stream"
    },
    "versions" : [ "0.1.1" ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dominictarr/event-stream/issues/116"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.npmjs.com/advisories/737"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-506" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-08-31T18:33:59Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}