MalwarePublished 12 Aug 2026

@years20/n8n-nodes-utils-helper-b (npm) · Malicious Code

Affects @years20/n8n-nodes-utils-helper-bSource GCVE Database

Malicious package : remove @years20/n8n-nodes-utils-helper-b and rotate any secrets on hosts that installed it.

Data as of 12 Aug 2026, 16:25 UTC

Classification

Malicious package

Published to npm · OSV MAL-2026-13910

What to do

Remove @years20/n8n-nodes-utils-helper-b 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@years20/n8n-nodes-utils-helper-b	Affected =1.0.0	Fixed in–

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Description

The npm package @years20/n8n-nodes-utils-helper-b version 1.0.0 contains malicious code that executes during installation and runtime. It collects system information and SSH public key data, encodes it, and exfiltrates it to a remote server with TLS verification disabled. Additionally, it writes a private SSH key to a temporary file and attempts to SSH into localhost on specific ports to find pre-provisioned access on developer and CI hosts. This behavior enables persistent command and control capabilities and potential lateral movement within affected environments.

Impact

This malicious package can exfiltrate sensitive system and SSH key information to an attacker-controlled server, potentially compromising system confidentiality. The embedded private key and SSH brute force attempts to localhost allow the attacker to gain unauthorized access to local services, enabling lateral movement or persistence on developer and CI hosts. The disabling of TLS verification increases the risk of man-in-the-middle interception during data exfiltration. Overall, this poses a significant risk to the integrity and confidentiality of affected systems.

Defensive guidance

Users should immediately remove @years20/n8n-nodes-utils-helper-b version 1.0.0 from their environments and avoid installing or importing this package. Verify that no unauthorized SSH keys have been added to /tmp or other locations and audit local SSH access logs for suspicious activity. Consider rotating SSH keys and credentials if this package was installed. Monitor for any unexpected network connections to the indicated remote domain. Since this is a malicious package, remediation involves removal and incident response rather than patching.

Summary

The malicious code in @years20/n8n-nodes-utils-helper-b@1.0.0 executes on npm install (postinstall) and on require/import of the package's main entry files (callback.js and index.js). It runs system commands to gather user ID, hostname, and WSL detection, reads the SSH Ed25519 public key, base64-encodes this data, and sends it via an unverified TLS GET request to a remote URL. The payload is structured as a shell command that can be replayed by a command and control server. The scripts also write an embedded base64 OpenSSH Ed25519 private key to /tmp/pk with restrictive permissions and attempt SSH authentication to localhost on ports 22495 and 22 using a list of common usernames, aiming to find pre-configured SSH access on developer and CI machines. This ensures execution even if npm install is run with --ignore-scripts, as the package is loaded at runtime by n8n.

References

npmjs.com/package/@years20/n8n-nodes-utils-helper-b/v/1.0.0 (opens in a new tab)

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What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 12 Aug 2026, 16:25 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews