supply chain event / NVI-00009693 / Revision 1
Malicious code in eth-keystore-utils (RubyGems)
GitHub lists this malware advisory for eth-keystore-utils, eth-keystore-utils, eth-keystore-utils. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
eth-keystore-utils
source listed= 1.0.0
## Source: amazon-inspector (cd660255e3a3483ed89e81f30c696390f8b182a891f8f1fb7e4c1cbb3b52eb32) The gem advertises itself as an Ethereum keystore helper but ships a native extension (ext/req_throttle_mini/extconf.rb) whose sole purpose is to execute a malicious payload during `gem install`. The extconf script base64-decodes an embedded Ruby payload and `eval`s it inside a double-forked, detached child process, then writes an empty Makefile via create_makefile with no C sources present. The decoded payload opens a TCP connection to the hardcoded bare-IP C2 at 45.138.12.177:8090, pipes the socket to `/bin/sh` via IO.popen and IO.copy_stream in both directions, and reconnects on failure in a loop, giving the operator a persistent remote shell on the installer's host. The dropper is gated by anti-analysis checks: it refuses to fire inside CI, ephemeral or sandbox-shaped hostnames, generated usernames, or analysis path prefixes, requires the presence of developer secrets (~/.ssh, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.npmrc, ~/.gem/credentials, ~/.bundle) and sufficient machine uptime, and sleeps 20–40 minutes after detaching before executing to evade install-time scanners. The lib/ module is a thin JSON read
eth-keystore-utils
source listed> 0
## Source: amazon-inspector (cd660255e3a3483ed89e81f30c696390f8b182a891f8f1fb7e4c1cbb3b52eb32) The gem advertises itself as an Ethereum keystore helper but ships a native extension (ext/req_throttle_mini/extconf.rb) whose sole purpose is to execute a malicious payload during `gem install`. The extconf script base64-decodes an embedded Ruby payload and `eval`s it inside a double-forked, detached child process, then writes an empty Makefile via create_makefile with no C sources present. The decoded payload opens a TCP connection to the hardcoded bare-IP C2 at 45.138.12.177:8090, pipes the socket to `/bin/sh` via IO.popen and IO.copy_stream in both directions, and reconnects on failure in a loop, giving the operator a persistent remote shell on the installer's host. The dropper is gated by anti-analysis checks: it refuses to fire inside CI, ephemeral or sandbox-shaped hostnames, generated usernames, or analysis path prefixes, requires the presence of developer secrets (~/.ssh, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.npmrc, ~/.gem/credentials, ~/.bundle) and sufficient machine uptime, and sleeps 20–40 minutes after detaching before executing to evade install-time scanners. The lib/ module is a thin JSON read
eth-keystore-utils
source listed= 1.0.3
## Source: amazon-inspector (cd660255e3a3483ed89e81f30c696390f8b182a891f8f1fb7e4c1cbb3b52eb32) The gem advertises itself as an Ethereum keystore helper but ships a native extension (ext/req_throttle_mini/extconf.rb) whose sole purpose is to execute a malicious payload during `gem install`. The extconf script base64-decodes an embedded Ruby payload and `eval`s it inside a double-forked, detached child process, then writes an empty Makefile via create_makefile with no C sources present. The decoded payload opens a TCP connection to the hardcoded bare-IP C2 at 45.138.12.177:8090, pipes the socket to `/bin/sh` via IO.popen and IO.copy_stream in both directions, and reconnects on failure in a loop, giving the operator a persistent remote shell on the installer's host. The dropper is gated by anti-analysis checks: it refuses to fire inside CI, ephemeral or sandbox-shaped hostnames, generated usernames, or analysis path prefixes, requires the presence of developer secrets (~/.ssh, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.npmrc, ~/.gem/credentials, ~/.bundle) and sufficient machine uptime, and sleeps 20–40 minutes after detaching before executing to evade install-time scanners. The lib/ module is a thin JSON read
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
Each assertion retains its source. Mirrored records may repeat one underlying publisher; additional links are not independent corroboration.
- GHSA-3chv-pqgw-55f8 ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub Advisory Database; CC-BY-4.0. Each advisory links its original attribution. Null normalizes fields.
Public revision history
Only published revisions appear here. Routine fetches do not create a material-change event.
- Revision 1 ·
First indexed by Null; source disclosure date is shown separately.