pafex (PyPI) · Malicious Code
Affects pafexSource GCVE Database
Malicious package : remove pafex and rotate any secrets on hosts that installed it.
Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 18:08 UTC
Malicious package
Published to PyPI · OSV MAL-2026-18094
What to do
Remove pafex 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PyPIpafex | Affected
| Fixed in– |
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Description
The pafex package on PyPI version 2.3 is part of a malicious campaign involving embedded pickle files that execute arbitrary code during unpickling. This leads to persistence via a PTH file and downloads further payloads, although the final payload analyzed was a stub. The package is used as a dependency to deliver malicious code that can execute remote commands and exfiltrate files.