CVE-2025-59142[email protected] contains malware after npm account takeover
- 8.8HighCVSS base score
- 0.43%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 63% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
color-string is a parser and generator for CSS color strings. On 8 September 2025, the npm publishing account for color-string was taken over after a phishing attack. Version 2.1.1 was published, functionally identical to the previous patch version, but with a malware payload added attempting to redirect cryptocurrency transactions to the attacker's own addresses from within browser environments. Local environments, server environments, command line applications, etc. are not affected. If the package was used in a browser context (e.g. a direct <script> inclusion, or via a bundling tool such as Babel, Rollup, Vite, Next.js, etc.) there is a chance the malware still exists and such bundles will need to be rebuilt. The malware seemingly only targets cryptocurrency transactions and wallets such as MetaMask. npm removed the offending package from the registry over the course of the day on 8 September. On 13 September, the package owner published new patch versions to help cache-bust those using private registries who might still have the compromised version cached. This issue has been resolved in 2.1.2.
Timeline
ID reserved
By GitHub_M
- 6 days later
· 6 days later
Published
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_MCNA (assigner) | 4.0 | High8.8 | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:A/U:Red |
| NVDNVD · Deferred | 4.0 | High8.8 | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:A/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:Red |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.43% · top 63% of all CVEs (14 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: partial
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 8.8.
Affected products
- affected = 2.1.1
Affected packages
From reviewed advisories of the GitHub Advisory Database.
- npmcolor-stringGHSA-286p-vc9p-p5qv (opens in a new tab)
References
References5
- https://github.com/Qix-/color-string/security/advisories/GHSA-286p-vc9p-p5qv (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/debug-js/debug/issues/1005 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
- https://socket.dev/blog/npm-author-qix-compromised-in-major-supply-chain-attack (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.aikido.dev/blog/npm-debug-and-chalk-packages-compromised (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.ox.security/blog/npm-packages-compromised (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISC
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2025-29225 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-286p-vc9p-p5qv (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2025-59142)Record last updated .