MAL-2026-17796

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Import Source
https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/rubygems/staking-apr-fetcher/MAL-2026-17796.json
JSON Data
https://api.test.osv.dev/v1/vulns/MAL-2026-17796
Published
2026-10-11T07:35:32Z
Modified
2026-10-13T23:30:05Z
Summary
Malicious code in staking-apr-fetcher (RubyGems)
Details

-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-

Source: amazon-inspector (405ab5b9651b8e8817ae91290042ec22673c5c99c1b58f45747e47cbb85aeacf)

The gem declares a native extension whose build script (extconf.rb) decodes a base64-embedded Ruby payload and executes it via eval during gem install. The payload double-forks a detached background process that opens a TCP connection to the hardcoded host 45.138.12.177:8089 and bidirectionally copies between that socket and a locally spawned /bin/sh, giving the operator of that endpoint interactive shell access on the installer's machine. Execution is gated by anti-analysis checks: the payload only fires when the environment does not look like CI, an ephemeral/sandbox VM (patterns matching uvm/firecracker/sandbox/vagrant), a generated analyst user (patterns matching uA\d+/sandbox/tester/analys/scanner), or a known analysis path (/opt/rubygems, /tmp/, /workspace/), and only when system uptime exceeds 1800 seconds and developer-identifying files exist (~/.ssh, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.gem/credentials, ~/.bundle, ~/.npmrc). The gem's advertised identity is a cover story: it is published as staking-apr-fetcher with a staking-related summary, but the README is titled bitcoin-rpc-lite, the extension's generated makefile is bitcoin_rpc_lite_native, no C sources are shipped for that native target, and the Ruby library (lib/staking_apr_fetcher.rb) is an inert stub defining only VERSION/build_id/healthy?. The package has no legitimate functionality; its sole purpose is to deliver the install-time backdoor.

Source: ossf-package-analysis (77e16e0b65be41b278edbb76b9a9d73b9567d78d302a6b568dc037ced7efce7f)

The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'staking-apr-fetcher' @ 0.9.1 (rubygems) as malicious.

It is considered malicious because:

  • The package executes one or more commands associated with malicious behavior.
Database specific 
{
    "malicious-packages-origins": [
        {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021368",
            "import_time": "2026-10-11T14:17:59.809936671Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-11T13:48:43Z",
            "sha256": "405ab5b9651b8e8817ae91290042ec22673c5c99c1b58f45747e47cbb85aeacf",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
                "0.9.1"
            ]
        },
        {
            "import_time": "2026-10-13T23:14:38.21108378Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-11T07:35:32Z",
            "sha256": "77e16e0b65be41b278edbb76b9a9d73b9567d78d302a6b568dc037ced7efce7f",
            "source": "ossf-package-analysis",
            "versions": [
                "0.9.1"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
References
Credits

Affected packages

RubyGems / staking-apr-fetcher

Package

Name
staking-apr-fetcher
Purl
pkg:gem/staking-apr-fetcher

Affected ranges

Affected versions

0.*
0.9.1

Database specific

cwes 
[
    {
        "cweId": "CWE-506",
        "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.",
        "name": "Embedded Malicious Code"
    }
]
indicators 
{
    "evidence_files": [
        {
            "path": "ext/staking_apr_fetcher/extconf.rb",
            "sha256": "10218e975f54a4f11fe3954e1b584a5f05054003bf5773c3c2b8cceaa74ba763",
            "tlsh": "9751775acf8359e55aa1c0c045798012faa3ab0a50646875f3ee0868ff59b26c0f12fe"
        },
        {
            "path": "metadata.yaml",
            "sha256": "512430b24b502e71911f0b3f86fd3ae17514fceef9c91fb21763382955c0b086",
            "tlsh": "1f11ada0a9c3f437f512e3f698403303f3e3d618fe756904a9ab8592438a56e37570a2"
        }
    ]
}
source 
"https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/rubygems/staking-apr-fetcher/MAL-2026-17796.json"