Video: Watch Me Run Malware From NPM

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Watch me run real obfuscated malware from NPM safely while revealing what it does. 
Learn how it's possible and use the technology behind it to secure your application from malicious code that gets past your audits and detections.

And if obfuscation is not enough, watch it applied to a malware payload delivered as pre-compiled V8 bytecode with no source code provided for it.

This talk has been presented at JSNation US 2024, check out the latest edition of this JavaScript Conference.

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Video summary
I'm Zebe, a JavaScript developer with a focus on security. Let's talk about the risks of consuming NPM packages, particularly malicious ones. We explore how to obtain and run malware, as well as evaluate and analyze JavaScript malware in Node.js. Malware can be delivered as pre-compiled bytecode, and defenses involve tools like npm audit. Hardin JavaScript and Lafamote are security tools that protect JavaScript applications and dependencies. Lafamote puts each package in its own compartment and provides tooling to create access policies. It prevents stolen cookies and restricts access to sensitive globals. Limited time offer to help set up projects with Lafamote.

FAQ

The presentation focuses on security concerns related to running malware directly from NPM, exploring malicious packages, and defending applications against them.

NPM packages are compared to unsanitized input from random people online, which are consumed and run in production without reading.

The main concern is the potential for malicious packages to be included in applications, leading to security vulnerabilities.

Malicious NPM packages can be explored on Socket Dev, where old versions are not removed, allowing users to view and download package contents.

Hardin JavaScript is a security tool that controls the scope and import mechanisms in JavaScript, providing scope isolation and preventing prototype pollution.

Using security tools like Lafamote is important to protect applications from malicious packages that could compromise security if they run in production.

LavaLab is used to run and evaluate malware samples in a controlled environment, allowing the speaker to demonstrate how malware operates.

The speaker is Zebe, a JavaScript and Node enthusiast with a focus on security, working on Labemote and running a Meetup and conference group called MeetJS.

Lafamote improves security by placing each package in its own compartment, controlling dependency structure, and allowing selective access to globals and imports.

The speaker created NPM Audit Resolver to address vulnerable dependencies by providing a structured way to manage them.

Zbyszek Tenerowicz
Zbyszek Tenerowicz
21 min
21 Nov, 2024

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