{
  "affected": [
    {
      "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/config.js",
              "sha256": "7e4c6d76f1d845f752e37876a2d3f773996719f33c2d1c282e0a84b04444efeb",
              "tlsh": "bf1694889194e02b96df1753bf052afdd13aa876d0cca747c2d4be9d29ac80be475cd0"
            },
            {
              "path": "package.json",
              "sha256": "cdf26c22ebf462aad3fbcec145f0522ef33d7cc597bdfb1eeb9e93061c121c84",
              "tlsh": "8a017620deb88e2301ed25524c2a0643ba658c175528fc2932dba12c0fad5fb01bf21d"
            }
          ],
          "package_integrity": [
            {
              "filename": "hardhat-init-2.21.0.tgz",
              "hashes": {
                "sha1": "d16463c24940a68741391ca525069c47fc0a8fd5",
                "sha512_sri": "sha512-JgEysB5pN15esOUR2q9dI60yi2QubOXAtoXaqDwLivNfpjAvipaveC8Fh+S11Ryvy92GtuAMP7PPtfMZr0wk6w=="
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "hardhat-init"
      },
      "versions": [
        "2.21.0"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "credits": [
    {
      "contact": [
        "inspector-research@amazon.com"
      ],
      "name": "Amazon Inspector",
      "type": "FINDER"
    }
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "malicious-packages-origins": [
      {
        "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021097",
        "import_time": "2026-10-06T04:47:23.612749357Z",
        "modified_time": "2026-10-06T04:27:56Z",
        "sha256": "e2f570102756d04aa466677488cd13aacac2eb941176523bc4ff024d214affbb",
        "source": "amazon-inspector",
        "versions": [
          "2.21.0"
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "details": "\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (e2f570102756d04aa466677488cd13aacac2eb941176523bc4ff024d214affbb)\nThe npm package hardhat-init presents itself as Hardhat initialization tooling and ships a README, LICENSE, and index.d.ts copied from the pino logger project with the name substituted. The main entry index.js requires./lib/config at the top level, which triggers a ~4.3MB heavily obfuscated JavaScript file (lib/config.js) whose top-level IIFE executes immediately on module load. The obfuscation uses hex-escaped string tables, nested index-lookup helpers, and a string-array shuffler consistent with obfuscator.io output, with no plaintext surface describing the behavior. The exported index.js is a trivial no-op that does not consume anything from lib/config, so the sole effect of loading the package is to execute the opaque payload. The combination of a name/content mismatch (hardhat-init vs. copied pino scaffolding), an oversized obfuscated sibling file with no legitimate purpose for an init helper, and auto-execution on require is a typosquat loader shape that causes arbitrary attacker-controlled code to run on the installer\u0027s machine the first time any consumer imports the package.\n",
  "id": "MAL-2026-17636",
  "modified": "2026-10-06T04:27:56Z",
  "published": "2026-10-06T04:27:56Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://www.npmjs.com/package/hardhat-init/v/2.21.0"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.7.4",
  "summary": "Malicious code in hardhat-init (npm)"
}