MalwarePublished 12 Jul 2026

pipspeed (PyPI) · Malicious Code

Affects pipspeedSource GCVE Database

Malicious package : remove pipspeed and rotate any secrets on hosts that installed it.

Data as of 13 Jul 2026, 09:53 UTC

Classification

Malicious package

Published to PyPI · OSV MAL-2026-10213

What to do

Remove pipspeed 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
PyPIpipspeed	Affected =0.1.0	Fixed in–

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Description

The pipspeed package version 0.1.0 on PyPI contains malicious code that fetches a remote JSON configuration from an anonymous mutable paste host. This JSON controls which PyPI package is installed and which function is executed dynamically in the user's Python process, enabling arbitrary remote code execution. The package does not verify or restrict the remote content, allowing an attacker controlling the JSON to execute any code on the victim's machine. This behavior was first discovered by Amazon Inspector and is classified as a malicious package with clear intent to execute harmful actions.

Impact

An attacker who controls the remote JSON document can cause arbitrary code execution on any system that runs pipspeed._optimize(). This can lead to full compromise of the affected system, unauthorized access, data theft, or further malware deployment. The malicious package effectively acts as a remote code execution backdoor triggered by a simple function call. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time, but the potential impact is critical.

Defensive guidance

Users should immediately uninstall pipspeed version 0.1.0 and avoid running pipspeed._optimize() or any code from this package. Avoid installing packages from unverified or anonymous sources. Monitor PyPI for updates or vendor advisories regarding this package.

Summary

The pipspeed package (version 0.1.0) exposes a public entry point pipspeed._optimize() that downloads a JSON document from https://www.jsonkeeper.com/b/53XMN. This JSON specifies a PyPI package name, function, and arguments. The package then installs the specified package via subprocess pip install, imports it dynamically, and executes the specified function with the given arguments in the same process. There is no validation, pinning, or signature verification of the remote JSON or the installed package, allowing an attacker controlling the JSON to execute arbitrary code remotely on the host running pipspeed._optimize(). This design constitutes a severe security risk and is a clear case of malicious package behavior.

References

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What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 13 Jul 2026, 09:53 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews