🛡 NPM Safety Guard

Built by SendWaveHub — SaaS tools for developers

Stops malicious npm packages, supply chain attacks, and known CVEs before npm install ever runs. Eight detection layers, zero signup, offline-capable.

$ code --install-extension Sendwavehubtech.npm-safety-guard

Or open the Extensions sidebar and search "NPM Safety Guard".

Why

The npm ecosystem ships ~1 supply chain attack per week (Shai-Hulud worm, Axios DPRK RAT, Lazarus/Marstech, event-stream). Most discovery happens after developers have already run npm install. NPM Safety Guard catches them at the moment you open package.json.

What it catches

Layer	When it runs	Cost	Catches
🔴 Bundled malware DB	every save	offline	Curated supply-chain attacks (Shai-Hulud, Axios, Lazarus, event-stream, node-ipc)
🔴 Remote feed	every 24h	1 HTTP/day	Community-maintained additions, no extension republish
🔵 OSV.dev CVE scan	every save	1 HTTP/dep	Every known CVE in the npm ecosystem
🟡 Install-script audit	every save	1 HTTP/dep	Packages with `preinstall`/`postinstall`/`prepare` hooks (the #1 attack vector)
🟣 Typosquat + homoglyph	every save	offline, instant	`axioss → axios`, `rеact` (Cyrillic 'е'), Damerau-Levenshtein vs top-250
🔬 Deep tarball AST scan	command	N downloads	`eval`, `new Function`, base64 blobs, `String.fromCharCode` reconstruction, split-file payloads, Shai-Hulud `npm publish` self-propagation
📋 Lockfile walk	command	0	Transitive compromises (catches `flatmap-stream@0.1.1` shipped via `event-stream@3.3.6`)
📊 Risk heuristics	command	2 HTTP/dep	0–100 score from package age, maintainer takeover, deprecation, download velocity
🟠 ReversingLabs deep scan	command (opt-in)	needs token	Binary tampering analysis (free token)
💡 Quick-fix code actions	lightbulb / `Cmd+.`	instant	One-click Pin to fix version · Replace typo · Remove dependency · Add to whitelist

Real attacks covered out of the box

Package	Versions	Campaign
`axios`	1.14.1, 0.30.4	🔴 Sapphire Sleet (DPRK) RAT, Mar 2026
`plain-crypto-js`	4.2.1	🔴 RAT dropper (WAVESHAPER.V2)
`@shadanai/openclaw`	2026.3.x	🔴 Axios campaign vector
`@qqbrowser/openclaw-qbot`	0.0.130	🔴 Axios campaign vector
`@ctrl/tinycolor`	4.1.1, 4.1.2	🔴 Shai-Hulud worm, Sept 2025
`rxnt-authentication`	all	🔴 Shai-Hulud worm propagation
`ngx-toastr`	19.0.1, 19.0.2	🔴 Shai-Hulud 2.0 (preinstall), Nov 2025
`bigmathutils`	all	🔴 Lazarus / Marstech Mayhem (DPRK)
`event-stream`	3.3.6	🟠 Crypto wallet theft (2018)
`node-ipc`	10.1.1-11.0.0	🟠 Protestware (2022)

Plus every CVE in the npm ecosystem via OSV.dev — and the community feed grows without extension updates.

How it looks in your editor

Open any package.json. Within ~1 second you see:

🔴 Red highlight on lines with known-malicious packages
🟣 Purple highlight on typosquats / homoglyphs (axioss, rеact with Cyrillic 'е')
🟡 Gold dashed on packages with install hooks (with mitigation: npm install --ignore-scripts)
🔵 Blue highlight on packages with active CVEs (hover shows fix version)
📌 Status bar shield indicator with threat count

Hover any flagged line for the full report — CVE IDs, advisory links, fix commands.

Commands

Open the command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and type "NPM Safety Guard":

Command	What it does
Scan package.json Now	Re-run all auto-scan layers
Show Security Report	Open the bundled-DB findings webview
Scan with OSV.dev	Force-refresh CVE results
Audit Install Scripts	Force-refresh install-hook check
Refresh Malware Database	Pull the latest community feed now
Check Typosquats / Homoglyphs	Force-refresh name-similarity check
Compute Risk Heuristics	0–100 risk score per dep (age/maintainers/downloads)
Deep Scan All Dependencies	Tarball download + AST scan, opens detailed webview
Scan Lockfile	Walk `package-lock.json` / `yarn.lock`, check every transitive dep
Check ReversingLabs	Premium binary analysis (needs free token)

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`npmSafetyGuard.enableAutoScan`	`true`	Scan on open/save
`npmSafetyGuard.showInlineDecorations`	`true`	Inline highlights in package.json
`npmSafetyGuard.enableOSV`	`true`	Free CVE scan via OSV.dev
`npmSafetyGuard.enableRemoteDb`	`true`	Pull community malware feed every 24h
`npmSafetyGuard.remoteDbUrl`	blank	Override the malware feed URL
`npmSafetyGuard.enableScriptCheck`	`true`	Audit dependencies for install hooks
`npmSafetyGuard.scriptWhitelist`	`[]`	Extra packages to silence from script warnings
`npmSafetyGuard.enableTyposquat`	`true`	Name-similarity + homoglyph detection
`npmSafetyGuard.rlToken`	blank	ReversingLabs Spectra Assure token (free at secure.software)

Privacy

The bundled DB, typosquat / homoglyph, and lockfile layers are 100% offline.
The OSV.dev scanner sends <package-name>@<version> over HTTPS to api.osv.dev. Package names are public metadata.
The remote feed is a plain HTTPS GET to raw.githubusercontent.com. No request body, no tracking.
The install-script auditor and registry heuristics call registry.npmjs.org and api.npmjs.org — same as npm install does.
The deep tarball scanner downloads .tgz files from registry.npmjs.org (the same artifacts npm fetches).
ReversingLabs is opt-in and only runs when you set a token and invoke the command.

All network calls are fail-open — if anything is unreachable, every other layer keeps working.

Reporting a new malicious package

Edit db/malicious-packages.json on GitHub
Open a PR
Once merged, every install picks it up within 24h

Credits

CVE data from OSV.dev (Google)
Premium deep scan via ReversingLabs Spectra Assure
Inspired by Aikido Safe Chain and OSSF malicious-packages

About

Maintained by SendWaveHub. Check out our other developer tools at sendwavehub.tech.

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