Malicious code in tron-trc20-utils (RubyGems)

{
  "id": "0eaf8611abcfa328486de9500098de1f9be3ced03c473bef13c5be52d9411ce2",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-17798",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "Malicious code in tron-trc20-utils (RubyGems)",
    "summary": "--- _-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_ ## Source: amazon-inspector (c840b18eadc331896e56720bc9a00f1239807542202bbd4ff9636737f27d0142) The gem's extconf.rb contains a base64-encoded Ruby payload that is decoded and eval'd inside a detached double-forked child during `gem install`. The decoded code opens a TCP connection to 45.138.12.177:8089 and bridges it to /bin/sh, giving the remote operator an interactive shell on the installer's machine. Execution is gated by sandbox/CI-evasion checks: it skips if common CI environment variables are set, if the hostname or username matches sandbox/analyst patterns (uvm/firecracker/sandbox/vagrant/tester/analys/scanner), if the working directory is under /tmp, /opt/rubygems, or /workspace, if /proc/uptime is under 1800 seconds, and it additionally requires developer artifacts such as ~/.ssh, ~/.gitconfig, ~/.gem/credentials, ~/.npmrc, or ~/.bundle to be present. The gem's advertised identity does not match its contents: the gemspec names it `tron-trc20-utils`, the README is for `bitcoin-rpc-lite`, extconf.rb calls `create_makefile('bitcoin_rpc_lite_native')`, and the shipped library is a trivial stub exposing only VERSION, build_id, and healthy? — the install-time reverse shell is the package's only real functionality. ## Source: ossf-package-analysis (c9add94bc20b1a60a35543af695790edcf781639b586b91bc4f4349355e24cb3) The OpenSSF Package Analysis project identified 'tron-trc20-utils' @ 0.9.1 (rubygems) as malicious. It ",
    "evidence": "osv:MAL-2026-17798",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "tron-trc20-utils",
          "evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [],
        "affected_versions": [
          {
            "value": "0.9.1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/versions"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "severity": "unknown",
    "structured": {
      "id": "MAL-2026-17798",
      "aliases": [
        "MAL-2026-17798"
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "package": {
            "name": "tron-trc20-utils",
            "purl": "pkg:gem/tron-trc20-utils",
            "ecosystem": "RubyGems"
          },
          "versions": [
            "0.9.1"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "cwes": [
              {
                "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/rubygems/tron-trc20-utils/MAL-2026-17798.json",
            "indicators": {
              "evidence_files": [
                {
                  "path": "ext/tron_trc20_utils/extconf.rb",
                  "tlsh": "9751775acf8359e55aa1c0c045798012faa3ab0a50646875f3ee0868ff59b26c0f12fe",
                  "sha256": "10218e975f54a4f11fe3954e1b584a5f05054003bf5773c3c2b8cceaa74ba763"
                },
                {
                  "path": "metadata.yaml",
                  "tlsh": "9a11f380b6c3fc37f205d2e67d642347e3b2ea08be51783099a3829543c41ad67870a1",
                  "sha256": "ecf297a9796a5c5b9b228db9e4a1715ea88ae40ba2bef8c5e9226f84e2605453"
                }
              ]
            }
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-13T23:30:06.203981335Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "references": [
        "https://rubygems.org/gems/tron-trc20-utils/versions/0.9.1"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "malicious-packages-origins": [
          {
            "id": "IN-MAL-2026-021365",
            "sha256": "c840b18eadc331896e56720bc9a00f1239807542202bbd4ff9636737f27d0142",
            "source": "amazon-inspector",
            "versions": [
              "0.9.1"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-11T14:17:59.599525206Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-11T13:48:19Z"
          },
          {
            "sha256": "c9add94bc20b1a60a35543af695790edcf781639b586b91bc4f4349355e24cb3",
            "source": "ossf-package-analysis",
            "versions": [
              "0.9.1"
            ],
            "import_time": "2026-10-13T23:14:38.76013948Z",
            "modified_time": "2026-10-11T07:25:29Z"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": null
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 313750,
  "published_at": "2026-10-11T07:25:29+00:00"
}