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 (b34d702840be6773d3d41444f836f45dab6a8e3524fcc8e4cd6d224ac3a77f1e)
The package body is inert (`__init__.py` contains only `#c\n`); the entire functionality lives in setup.py, which runs on `pip install`. During install, setup.py writes a Python HTTP server script to `/tmp/.kxs` and launches it detached via `subprocess.Popen([sys.executable, '/tmp/.kxs'], start_new_session=True)`. The server binds `0.0.0.0` on ports 9998, 9999, 8089, 8099, and 8899 and executes any shell command passed in a GET `c=` query parameter via `subprocess.run(c, shell=True,...)`, gated only by a token stored at `/tmp/.kxq`. The result is a persistent, network-exposed shell on all interfaces of the installing machine, running as the installing user, with no relationship to building or using any advertised functionality.
Source: kam193 (dbcf75de5bd0a526e2aad408ec7999bd29b6648a527662b01405279824f7939a)
In this campaign, packages execute malicious code during installation. The exact behavior varies between versions: fingerprinting environment, exposing a backdoor server listening for remote commands, downloading remote commands from a hardcoded location. Next stages seem to be downloaded from localhost, what suggests the code may still be a preparation for the real attack.
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Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.
Campaign: 2026-11-qzc
Reasons (based on the campaign):
- The package contains code to exfiltrate basic data from the system, like IP or username. It has a limited risk.
- The package contains code to execute remote commands (probably limited to a specific set) on the victim's machine.
- backdoor
- The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.