CVE-2025-59143VulnerabilityPublished 15 Sep 2025

CVE-2025-59143: Qix- color · Embedded Malicious Code

Affects Qix- colorSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High · fixed in 5.0.2 : patch Qix- color soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 08:30 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

8.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 34% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 5.0.2

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:A/U:Red

Base metrics

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low
Vulnerable system integrity: High
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Threat metrics

Exploit Maturity: Attacked

Supplemental metrics

Provider Urgency: Red

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the vulnerable system. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Exploit Maturity: Attacked: Based on threat intelligence sources either of the following must apply: · Attacks targeting this vulnerability (attempted or successful) have been reported · Solutions to simplify attempts to exploit the vulnerability are publicly or privately available (such as exploit toolkits)
Provider Urgency: Red: Provider has assessed the impact of this vulnerability as having the highest urgency.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Sep 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Qix- color	Affected =5.0.1	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should take immediate and specific actions beyond generic patching advice: 1) Audit all projects and dependencies to identify any usage of 'color' version 5.0.1, especially in browser-targeted bundles. 2) Completely remove the node_modules directory and clear all package manager caches (npm, yarn, pnpm) to eliminate cached malicious packages. 3) Rebuild all browser bundles from scratch using the patched version 5.0.2 or later to ensure no residual malicious code remains. 4) For organizations operating private npm registries or mirrors, purge all cached copies of version 5.0.1 to prevent inadvertent distribution. 5) Implement or enhance supply chain security measures such as package integrity verification (e.g., using npm's package integrity hashes or third-party tools), dependency monitoring, and automated alerts for suspicious package updates. 6) Educate development teams on phishing risks to prevent future account takeovers. 7) Monitor blockchain transactions associated with organizational wallets for anomalies that might indicate compromise. 8) Consider adopting multi-factor authentication and hardware security modules for managing cryptographic keys to reduce risk from client-side malware. These targeted steps will help mitigate the risk posed by this embedded malicious code incident.

Description

color is a Javascript color conversion and manipulation library. On 8 September 2025, the npm publishing account for color was taken over after a phishing attack. Version 5.0.1 was published, functionally identical to the previous patch version, but with a malware payload added attempting to redirect cryptocurrency transactions to the attacker's own addresses from within browser environments. Local environments, server environments, command line applications, etc.are not affected. If the package was used in a browser context (e.g.a direct <script> inclusion, or via a bundling tool such as Babel, Rollup, Vite, Next.js, etc.) there is a chance the malware still exists and such bundles will need to be rebuilt. The malware seemingly only targets cryptocurrency transactions and wallets such as MetaMask.npm removed the offending package from the registry over the course of the day on 8 September, preventing further downloads from npm proper. On 13 September, the package owner published new patch versions to help cache-bust those using private registries who might still have the compromised version cached. Users should update to the latest patch version, completely remove their node_modules directory, clean their package manager's global cache, and rebuild any browser bundles from scratch. Those operating private registries or registry mirrors should purge the offending versions from any caches. This issues has been resolved in 5.0.2.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of this threat is significant, particularly for those involved in fintech, cryptocurrency services, blockchain development, and any web applications integrating cryptocurrency wallet functionalities. The malicious code's ability to redirect cryptocurrency transactions compromises the confidentiality and integrity of financial data, potentially leading to direct financial losses and erosion of user trust. Since the attack targets browser environments, organizations deploying web applications that bundle the 'color' library without verifying package integrity could inadvertently expose their users to theft. This is especially critical for companies offering wallet integrations or crypto payment gateways. Additionally, the supply chain nature of the compromise means that even organizations without direct cryptocurrency dealings but using affected front-end libraries could serve malicious code to end-users, damaging reputations and possibly violating data protection regulations such as GDPR if user data is indirectly impacted. The swift removal of the malicious package and patch release mitigates ongoing risk, but organizations with slow update cycles or private registries may remain vulnerable. The incident underscores the need for rigorous supply chain security practices in European software development and deployment pipelines.

Summary

CVE-2025-59143 is a high-severity supply chain vulnerability affecting the 'color' JavaScript library maintained by the Qix- project. The incident occurred on September 8, 2025, when the npm publishing account for the 'color' package was compromised via a phishing attack. The attacker published version 5.0.1, which was functionally identical to the previous patch but contained embedded malicious code designed to intercept and redirect cryptocurrency transactions within browser environments. This malicious payload specifically targets browser-based cryptocurrency wallets such as MetaMask, attempting to divert transactions to attacker-controlled addresses. Importantly, environments outside the browser context—such as local development, server-side applications, and command-line tools—are not affected by this malware. The malicious version was quickly removed from the npm registry on the same day, and a clean patched version 5.0.2 was released on September 13, 2025, to assist users in cache busting and remediation. Users who incorporated the compromised version into browser bundles via tools like Babel, Rollup, Vite, or Next.js are at risk if those bundles have not been rebuilt since the compromise. Additionally, private npm registries or mirrors may still serve the malicious version if caches have not been purged. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-506 (Embedded Malicious Code) and carries a CVSS 4.0 score of 8.8, reflecting its high impact and ease of exploitation without requiring authentication or user interaction. The attack leverages the trust in the npm supply chain and the widespread use of the 'color' library in front-end JavaScript projects, emphasizing the risks of compromised dependencies in modern web development.

CWE-506Embedded Malicious Code (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessOWASP Top 10 A08:2025: Software or Data Integrity Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.
Implementation · Operation
Remove the malicious code and start an effort to ensure that no more malicious code exists. This may require a detailed review of all code, as it is possible to hide a serious attack in only one or two lines of code.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Software Supply Chain Security (opens in a new tab)
Infrastructure as Code (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Infected Software (opens in a new tab)
Embed Virus into DLL (opens in a new tab)
Hiding Malicious Data or Code within Files (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 15 Sep 2025, 19:20 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-506

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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