Malicious Python packages caught stealing Discord tokens, installing shells

The operators of the Python Package Index (PyPI) have removed this week 11 Python libraries from their portal for various malicious behaviors, including the collection and theft of user data, passwords, and Discord access tokens and the installation of remote access shells for remote access to infected systems.

According to the security team at DevOps platform JFrog, which discovered this set of malicious libraries, the 11 packages had been downloaded and installed more than 30,000 times before the packages were spotted and reported.

Worth mentioning is that the packages did not appear to have been developed by the same author, as each contained a slightly different malicious behavior and method of exfiltrating data from infected systems, as detailed in the table below.

Package	# of downloads	Automated detection indicators	Description
importantpackage important-package	6305 12897	Shell process with obfuscated input	Hidden connectback shell to psec.forward.io.global.prod.fastly.net, using the trevorc2 client
pptest	10001	Suspicious version²	Uses DNS to send hostname+'|'+os.getcwd()+'|'+str(self.get_wan_ip())+'|'+local_ip_str
ipboards	946	Sensitive file handling Suspicious version	Dependency confusion, sends user info (username, hostname) via DNS tunneling to b0a0374cd1cb4305002e.d.requestbin.net
owlmoon	3285	eval with obfuscated input	Discord token stealer trojan. Sends tokens to https://discord.com/api/webhooks/875931932360331294/wA0rLs3xX_2JgqlfqEfpYoL9zer_Qs7hpsMbwaDl6-UByE_ZRHiXm0t1lr-o_3RFBqBR
DiscordSafety	557	exec with obfuscated input	Discord token stealer trojan. Sends tokens to https://tornadodomain.000webhostapp.com/stlr.php?token=
trrfab	287	Sensitive file handling Suspicious version	Dependency confusion, sends user info (id, hostname, /etc/passwd, /etc/hosts, /home) to yxznlysc47wvrb9r9z211e1jbah15q.burpcollaborator.net
10Cent10 10Cent11	490 490	Shell spawning Suspicious version	Connectback shell to hardcoded address 104.248.19.57
yandex-yt	4183	Suspicious version	Prints pwned message and directs to https://nda.ya.ru/t/iHLfdCYw3jCVQZ, could be a malicious domain (currently seems inactive)
yiffparty	1859	eval with obfuscated input	Discord token stealer trojan. Sends tokens to https://discord.com/api/webhooks/875931932360331294/wA0rLs3xX_2JgqlfqEfpYoL9zer_Qs7hpsMbwaDl6-UByE_ZRHiXm0t1lr-o_3RFBqBR

Ten of the eleven packages were outright malicious, as it is clear from the table above. One, named yandex-yt, appears to be some sort of test or joke, but one that could easily turn into a malware delivery channel.

One important observation is that two of the 11 packages also abused a new technique called dependency confusion, a technique where attackers register packages with names that might be used inside closed corporate networks, hoping that their public package gets pulled when the corporate package was deleted and the dependency tree was not updated.

JFrog researchers have published an in-depth analysis for each of the 11 malicious PyPI packages they have discovered.

This marks the second time this year when JFrog researchers have discovered malicious Python libraries after finding another eight earlier this year, in July.