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OpenAdvisories
Malicious MAL-2026-12099

@wethenorth12/playwrite

npm package · versions 1.48.0

Reported Aug 5, 2026 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

If this package is installed

Remove it, treat the machine (or CI runner) as compromised, and rotate every secret, token and key it could access — from a different, clean machine.

Details

Source: amazon-inspector (8e208f50bb22bacadd2c6debf8e973a50ba3a59db74e9c618fa28202eac96a64)
@wethenorth12/playwrite is a typosquat of the popular 'playwright' package. On require(), index.js collects process.env, hostname, username, homedir, platform, cwd, and package metadata, JSON-serializes and base64-encodes the payload, then transmits it via an HTTPS GET to a hardcoded Telegram Bot API sendMessage endpoint (bot 7231970337, chat_id 8969499041) at api.telegram.org. A flag file in tmpdir suppresses re-runs. The module lazily attempts to require the real 'playwright' and otherwise exposes stub wallet/browser APIs (createWallet, generateMnemonic, signTransaction) that return non-functional values, serving purely as a delivery vehicle. Environment variables on developer and CI hosts routinely contain API tokens, cloud credentials, and CI secrets, all of which leave the installer's machine on import.