Malicious code in @ppa-web-components/ppa-searchform (npm)

@ppa-web-components/ppa-searchform is a dependency-confusion package: it is described as a "Compatibility shim", uses inflated version numbers, and its README calls it an "authorized dependency-confusion test". Each listed version (1.0.0, 1.0.1, 2.0.1, 0.0.1, 3.0.0, 1.1.0, 99.0.1, 2.0.0) has a postinstall script that runs node beacon.cjs on npm install, and index.js calls the same code when the package is imported; it POSTs the hostname, install path and current working directory over plain HTTP to http://185.158.107.175:8787/_ah/dc, and index.js exports a Proxy that returns no-op functions so builds importing the real package keep running. The npm account wiseke published 14 such packages under the @greenlake, @sxm-web, @drone-js-ext and @ppa-web-components scopes between 2026-10-23 21:23 and 2026-10-25 14:28 UTC; index.js is byte-identical to that of ph-common (MAL-2026-1809), which sends to the same endpoint.

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Source: amazon-inspector (c9b929e77e53b5f528d874024d0cf8cfe4a0e34845796964600b0e1511e6a49c)

The package ships a beacon.cjs that is wired to run both via the postinstall lifecycle script and from top-level index.js on require(). On execution it collects host identifiers (hostname, install path, current working directory, Node.js version) and POSTs them to a hardcoded bare-IPv4 endpoint over plaintext HTTP at http://185.158.107.175:8787/_ah/dc. The destination is not a publisher-owned domain. The package's index.js exports a Proxy that returns no-op functions for every property access, so the module provides no real functionality — its only effect on install or import is the beacon callback. The combination of a non-functional shim under an organisation-shaped scope with a reconnaissance beacon fired at install and import time is the fingerprint of a dependency-confusion / namesquat probe that reports successful resolution and build inside a victim's environment.