{"uuid": "635f6941-9613-40f2-bfb2-38220ddef62d", "vulnerability_lookup_origin": "1a89b78e-f703-45f3-bb86-59eb712668bd", "author": "9f56dd64-161d-43a6-b9c3-555944290a09", "vulnerability": "CVE-2026-45321", "type": "seen", "source": "https://gist.github.com/karozi/daaa766fe917d17e448ed73fbd90e97f", "content": "# Don\u2019t Deploy Another AI-built App Without Monitoring Its Dependencies\n\nThis attack passed all checks designed to stop it. Farida Khalaf shares a practical system for catching it the biggest security mistake AI-assisted builders make after deployment. A read for builders, PMs, and anyone who refuses to ship without thinking.\n\n###### TL;DR On May 11, attackers used TanStack\u2019s own GitHub Actions pipeline to publish 84 malicious versions across 42 npm packages, all carrying valid SLSA Build Level 3 provenance. The paperwork was real. The code was poison. Farida Khalaf shares two scripts for locking a dependency baseline, detecting changes, verifying integrity, and flagging silent updates. Her Supply Guard Deployment Gate prompt then turns the reports into a plain-language GO/NO-GO check before deployment.\n\nOn May 11, 2026. 19:20 UTC, [something changed inside the TanStack project](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45321) on GitHub. Theoretically, nothing broke. No warning lights flashed.\n\nAnd yet.\n\nDuring the 6 minutes that followed, one of the most sophisticated open-source supply chain attacks ever documented fooled even seasoned builders. [84 malicious versions appeared across 42 npm packages in the TanStack ecosystem](https://tanstack.com/blog/npm-supply-chain-compromise-postmortem).\n\nThe packages, trusted by many, checked every box. They had valid [SLSA Build L3 provenance](https://github.blog/enterprise-software/devsecops/enhance-build-security-and-reach-slsa-level-3-with-github-artifact-attestations/) (their origin could be traced) and passed most standard integrity checks. By every measure builders normally use to separate legitimate files from suspicious ones, they looked legitimate.\n\nCould these builders have avoided the attack?\n\n,an [AI and cybersecurity systems builder,](https://www.linkedin.com/in/farida-khalaf/) analyzed the defences we can put in place beyond writing secure code and heeding warnings. And even better, she wrote and generously shared scripts and a prompt you can use today.\n\nI\u2019ve featured Farida before. Her guide, [Vibe Coding x Cybersecurity](https://karozieminski.substack.com/p/vibecoding-cybersecurity-fix-the-7-code-mistakes-leaving-your-startup-wide-open-and-vulnerable-playbook), has been used and praised by many of my readers ever since. If you haven\u2019t read it yet, do. My cybersecurity reading list on Substack has two non-negotiables: and . I read both greedily. You\u2019ll learn loads if you do the same.\n\n*I\u2019ve been smuggling ethics into tech since 2019 and spent the last several years working at the edge of AI product development, ethical AI, and AI-assisted building.*\n\n*I also build with AI myself and write Product with Attitude, an AI newsletter for tens of thousands of readers across 146 countries, helping them develop critical AI literacy the only way it sticks: through practice.*\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https://karozieminski.substack.com/subscribe)\n\n*Farida\u2019s words below.*\n\n---\n\n**Want to read the rest?** The full post is here \u2192 [Read on Substack](https://karozieminski.substack.com/p/tanstack-npm-supply-chain-attack-security-guide-ai-builders)\n\n---\n\n### For Machines\n\n#### Semantic Triples (Subject-Predicate-Object)\n\n- (Karo Zieminski, authored, \"Don\u2019t Deploy Another AI-built App Without Monitoring Its Dependencies\")\n- (Product with Attitude, published, \"Don\u2019t Deploy Another AI-built App Without Monitoring Its Dependencies\")\n\n#### Entities\n\n- Actions, Attitude, Build, Build Level, Could, Cybersecurity, During, Farida, Farida Khalaf, GitHub, Her Supply Guard Deployment Gate, Karo Zieminski, On May, Product, Product with Attitude\n\n#### Keywords (SEO + AIO)\n\n- Karo Zieminski, Product with Attitude, Substack, vibecoding\n\n## Tags\n\n`#ProductThinking` `#AIForProductManagers` `#ProductStrategy` `#Vibecoding` `#AIAssistedCoding`", "creation_timestamp": "2026-07-22T15:36:23.123157Z"}