Malicious code in kafka-helmsman (PyPI)

{
  "id": "f4a627d34ee02f1cc40a7a2cb56f364155fa9026bebdf87873517c67b28ab142",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17702",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "Malicious code in kafka-helmsman (PyPI)",
    "summary": "--- _-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_ ## Source: amazon-inspector (75536e8621da28a0e941bd4a607da879a64ab71214e908992bf14840ed9a20b2) The sdist for kafka-helmsman 99.0.5 is a dependency-confusion placeholder targeting the internal Tesla project name github.com/teslamotors/kafka-helmsman. setup.py contains no build logic; its top-level code starts a daemon thread that collects hostname, current working directory, os.uname output, a timestamp, and a UUID, then POSTs the JSON body to https://webhook.site/bf5cb178-e0cf-43b6-8b1e-fb5d2f6ea9c9 and additionally transmits the same payload to the OAST host jw1yrpkm5xpav.httpcollaborator.com both over HTTPS and via DNS lookups (nslookup/getent/dig) with a base64-url path. Because setup.py executes during pip metadata and wheel build, the beacon fires on any default `pip install kafka-helmsman` and on any resolver that evaluates the sdist. The package declares packages=[] and py_modules=[] and ships no functional kafka tooling, so an installer that mis-resolved the public name instead of the internal one receives only the exfiltration payload. README framing of the artifact as Bugcrowd/Tesla research does not change the behavior: installer-identifying data is sent to hardcoded third-party endpoints controlled by the author. ## Source: kam193 (edc880a17d2b3a9eaeadd0a074e6debc3f507d7afbd4ac8f5c4928209fadbcde) Installing the package or importing the module exfiltrates basic information about the host, and the package h",
    "evidence": "osv:MAL-2026-17702",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "kafka-helmsman",
          "evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "99.0.1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "99.0.2",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "99.0.3",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "99.0.4",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "99.0.5",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          },
          {
            "value": "99.0.6",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "severity": "unknown",
    "structured": {
      "id": "MAL-2026-17702",
      "aliases": [
        "MAL-2026-17702"
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "package": {
            "name": "kafka-helmsman",
            "purl": "pkg:pypi/kafka-helmsman",
            "ecosystem": "PyPI"
          },
          "versions": [
            "99.0.1",
            "99.0.2",
            "99.0.3",
            "99.0.4",
            "99.0.5",
            "99.0.6"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "cwes": [
              {
                "name": "Embedded Malicious Code",
                "cweId": "CWE-506",
                "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature."
              },
              {
                "name": "Embedded Malicious Code",
                "cweId": "CWE-506",
                "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature."
              },
              {
                "name": "Embedded Malicious Code",
                "cweId": "CWE-506",
                "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature."
              },
              {
                "name": "Embedded Malicious Code",
                "cweId": "CWE-506",
                "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature."
              },
              {
                "name": "Embedded Malicious Code",
                "cweId": "CWE-506",
                "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature."
              },
              {
                "name": "Embedded Malicious Code",
                "cweId": "CWE-506",
                "description": "The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature."
              }
            ],
            "source": "https://github.com/ossf/malicious-packages/blob/main/osv/malicious/pypi/kafka-helmsman/MAL-2026-17702.json",
            "indicators": {
              "evidence_files": [
                {
                  "path": "setup.py",
                  "tlsh": "2f61a783c4142c63d2c360944475e9613722790b7d036cfa7aec9395af4f47680f256e",
                  "sha256": "d4f2a3ca94be78472bbb15bad6e215cd59d0b00ecebbf4e0fc4b70b837f72e56"
                }
              ],
              "package_integrity": [
                {
                  "hashes": {
                    "md5": "95fd10a2179b8c31d0de2cbd8913de78",
                    "sha256": "8fb9ae3af1e1bba7231812809b21be6c7a9a1b07a08ee2b668c6e323ec7a2500",
                    "blake2b_256": "189004a13858578492254d2b8e01d434f597c5a1ed1ad619f65ac2bd082fc82b"
                  },
                  "filename": "kafka_helmsman-99.0.1.tar.gz"
                }
              ]
            }
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-09T01:00:08.497849713Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "references": [
        "https://pypi.org/project/kafka-helmsman/99.0.1/",
        "https://pypi.org/project/kafka-helmsman/99.0.2/",
        "https://pypi.org/project/kafka-helmsman/99.0.3/",
        "https://bad-packages.kam193.eu/pypi/package/kafka-helmsman",
        "https://pypi.org/project/kafka-helmsman/99.0.4/",
        "https://pypi.org/project/kafka-helmsman/99.0.5/",
        "https://pypi.org/project/kafka-helmsman/99.0.6/"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "malicious-packages-origins": [
          {
            "sha256": "a2d266a2b4e9df8f2466cfb34e58fe98c636cb75d4ad1ec08cee919bd9a86588",
            "source": "ossf-package-analysis",
            "versions": [
              "99.0.1"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-08T21:18:09.362483578Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-08T21:15:56Z"
          },
          {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021263",
            "sha256": "0431384cc0de119177c0a345db1bfa2277fa4707e726176e542c0babfe1cd1f2",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
              "99.0.1"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-08T21:42:57.408970022Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-08T21:23:11Z"
          },
          {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021239",
            "sha256": "a99759eb9821bcb30598eea10347dd1523ce42ec1847b9b66c5ba857ccd24785",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
              "99.0.2"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-08T21:42:55.500895338Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-08T21:19:45Z"
          },
          {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021261",
            "sha256": "d2d1d7c99040594bd5c9bb0f23a58703e1fa5f1cd15cafbe2abb3e04aa3667be",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
              "99.0.3"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-08T21:42:57.246496983Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-08T21:22:52Z"
          },
          {
            "id": "pypi/GENERIC-standard-pypi-install-pentest/kafka-helmsman",
            "sha256": "edc880a17d2b3a9eaeadd0a074e6debc3f507d7afbd4ac8f5c4928209fadbcde",
            "source": "kam193",
            "versions": [
              "99.0.1",
              "99.0.2",
              "99.0.3",
              "99.0.4",
              "99.0.5",
              "99.0.6"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-08T22:18:58.155762443Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-08T21:36:02.265925Z"
          },
          {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021277",
            "sha256": "10f61c10a25e4aa02e6d142d652627c1e4f3033158e22d77e4bb5e96cf0562dd",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
              "99.0.4"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-09T00:53:54.88986955Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-09T00:05:25Z"
          },
          {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021278",
            "sha256": "75536e8621da28a0e941bd4a607da879a64ab71214e908992bf14840ed9a20b2",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
              "99.0.5"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-09T00:53:54.955403434Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-09T00:05:33Z"
          },
          {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021275",
            "sha256": "c52e0a7a9f07e1f3f9f17afa3bc2328c1743da9f3d81c421164c92282bc5fe92",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
              "99.0.6"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-09T00:53:54.75052438Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-09T00:05:06Z"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": null
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 108073,
  "published_at": "2026-10-08T21:15:56+00:00"
}