web3-eth-account (PyPI) · Malicious Code
Affects web3-eth-accountSource GCVE Database
Malicious package : remove web3-eth-account and rotate any secrets on hosts that installed it.
Data as of 14 Sep 2026, 00:46 UTC
Malicious package
Published to PyPI · OSV MAL-2026-16129
What to do
Remove web3-eth-account 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 |
|---|---|---|
| PyPIweb3-eth-account | Affected
| Fixed in– |
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Description
--- _-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_ ## Source: amazon-inspector (19e3eadaccc63a1e12d0e3cfe153cbf78e114f30285d4da3694990827e5f5c5a) The package `web3-eth-account` typosquats the legitimate `eth-account` library and copies its metadata (ApeWorX/ethereum.org author addresses, README instructing `pip install eth-account`). On `import eth_account`, `__init__.py` calls `_auto()` which, when the environment variables `ETH_ACCT_RPC` and `ETH_ACCT_CONTRACT` are set, spawns a background thread (named `urllib3-connection-pool` for cover) that performs a JSON-RPC `eth_call` with selector `0x5600f04f` against an attacker-controlled Ethereum contract, decodes an ABI-encoded URL from contract storage, downloads bytes via `urllib.request.urlopen`, and hands them to `_apply_txn_payload` in `signing.py` / `transaction_utils.py`. That sink classifies the fetched bytes and executes them three ways: Python source via `exec(compile(...))`; Windows PE loaded in-memory via ctypes `CreateFileMappingW`/`MapViewOfFile`/`CreateProcessW`; otherwise written to `/tmp/_ethrt_<pid>.bin`, `chmod +x`, launched via `subprocess.Popen` in a new session with the file removed after launch. The C2 URL is resolved on-chain rather than embedded as a literal, defeating static URL extraction, and the dropper functions are disguised under transaction/signing names. ## Source: kam193 (bd36aeb2d45881a66bf5373c0b91a108637938dab5e0c153525e6f938c9c9503) A clone of a legitimate package with import-time malicious code activating if specific env variables are set. Once activated, it queries the blockchain to retrieve the next stage URL stored in a smart contract. The payload from the URL is then downloaded and executed. The address of the smart contract is not included in the package. --- Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers. Campaign: 2026-09-web3-eth-account Reasons (based on the campaign): - typosquatting - clones-real-package - c2-in-blockchain - Downloads and executes a remote malicious script.