MalwarePublished 6 Jul 2026Updated 14 Jul 2026

@flex-ng/error-component (npm) · Malicious Code

Affects @flex-ng/error-componentSource GCVE Database

Malicious package : remove @flex-ng/error-component and rotate any secrets on hosts that installed it.

Data as of 14 Jul 2026, 09:39 UTC

Classification

Malicious package

Published to npm · OSV MAL-2026-10221

What to do

Remove @flex-ng/error-component from every project, lockfile and image that pulls it in. Treat any host that installed it as compromised: rotate the credentials, tokens and keys it could read, from a clean machine.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
npm@flex-ng/error-component	Affected =2.1.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

Description

The @flex-ng/error-component npm package is a malicious package published as part of a dependency confusion attack. It contains a preinstall hook that executes automatically during npm install, sending the installer's public IP and host telemetry to an attacker-controlled Sentry endpoint without user consent. This behavior is designed for reconnaissance to identify organizations that mistakenly install the malicious package instead of the intended private dependency. The package version 2.1.0 is affected. Removal alone may not fully remediate the compromise as the attacker may have gained broader access.

Impact

Systems that install this package version are subject to unauthorized telemetry exfiltration, including public IP address, hostname, OS username, and runtime metadata, sent to an attacker-controlled Sentry project. This can lead to organizational reconnaissance and potential targeted follow-up attacks. The presence of this package indicates a likely compromise of the development environment or build pipeline. According to external sources, any computer with this package installed should be considered fully compromised, and all secrets and keys on that system should be rotated from a different, trusted machine.

Defensive guidance

The package should be immediately removed from all environments. All secrets and credentials stored on affected systems must be rotated from a separate, uncompromised device. Review and correct dependency resolution configurations to prevent dependency confusion attacks, ensuring private packages are resolved correctly and not overridden by public packages with similar names. Monitor for and block installation of similarly named malicious packages. Since full system compromise is possible, consider rebuilding affected systems from known good backups.

Summary

The @flex-ng/error-component package published by user 'click2ai' on npm impersonates an internal package to exploit misconfigured dependency resolvers. It declares a preinstall hook that installs @sentry/node and runs a script which initializes a Sentry client with a hardcoded attacker-controlled DSN. The script collects the installer's public IP via Cloudflare's trace endpoint and captures runtime environment details including hostname and OS username by triggering a deliberate error. This data is sent to the attacker's Sentry project, enabling attribution of successful installs to specific organizations. The malicious payload is identical across packages published by this user, differing only in package name and Sentry project ID. The exported init() API also silently relays exceptions and PII to the attacker if called without explicit configuration. The affected version is 2.1.0.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 14 Jul 2026, 09:39 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews