using several npm, Python, and Ruby packages

 continues to emerge. A series of malicious packages have been added to the npm, PyPI, and RubyGems package repositories. The attacks have been ongoing for some time, with some seeded years ago. Their aims are manifold, including stealing funds from crypto wallets, deleting codebases, and obtaining Telegram messaging data. Most affected packages are from PyPI, with over thirty packages affected across the three repositories.

No Evidence of Cloudsmith Customers Being Affected

The attacks have different goals, but are mainly introduced through 

 - the publication of a bogus package with a similar name to the legitimate package, intending to mislead developers into using the fake. For example, the malicious xlsc-to-json-lh is a typosquat of 

Another tactic we see in these attacks, similar to typosquatting, is brandjacking or name-squatting, where an attacker uses a brand or utility name to make the package appear as a bona fide tool for use in the same functional domain. For example, solana-charts uses the Solana name to masquerade as a legitimate package for working with the Solana cryptocurrency.

We have no evidence that any customer has been affected. For customers that follow Cloudsmith’s recommended setups, none appear to be impacted. If we find that a customer has been compromised, we’ll get in touch immediately.

Five malicious packages have been identified for npm. 

Four target the blockchain platforms BSC and Ethereum

: pancake_uniswap_validators_utils_snipe, pancakeswap-oracle-prediction, Ethereum, and env-process.

Both platforms let developers build apps using smart contracts, which are self-executing code that runs when certain conditions are met, enabling automatic payments or trades. Together, the packages have received over 2000 downloads.

This attack was seeded 4 years ago when the packages were first uploaded. They operate by stealth, stealing a percentage of a transaction by diverting money away from the target wallet to the attacker’s wallet.

The fifth package is xlsc-to-json-lh. This is a one-letter difference typosquat on the legitimate xlsx-to-json-lc, an Excel to JSON converter with over 1500 weekly downloads. The malicious package can 

Over 25 malicious Python packages have been identified. Many of these target the Solana cryptocurrency ecosystem. 

Eleven were published by the same threat actor

 and split across four payloads in May 2025: solana-test, solana-token, solana-charts, solana-test-suite, solana-data, solana-coin, dexscreener-charts, dexscreener-data, solana-trade, sol-prices, solana-live. The attacks aim to steal cryptocurrency, source code, and other sensitive data. 

 on Solana, a threat actor known as “cappership” added covert malware to the previously benign package semantic-types. The malware was designed to steal keys from Solana wallets during software development and through automated build processes. 

The attack introduced four additional PyPI packages: solana-keypair, solana-publickey, solana-trading-bot, and soltrade, which have an indirect dependency on semantic-types. This dependency means that semantic-types is added during the installation of the packages. Hiding a malicious payload behind a few layers of dependencies is a common attack technique in supply chain compromises.

The attack vector exploits Python’s dynamic features using a monkey patch, where functions are modified at runtime but the original source code is unchanged. The actor backed up their attack with convincing-looking documentation to gain trust, linking to authentic material on Stack Overflow, GitHub repos, and Solana docs. This highlights the tactics attackers are using to fake authenticity.

, which is used for colorizing terminal output. In a twist to a regular typosquat, the actor also uploaded malicious Python libraries resembling an npm JavaScript package: colorize. A cross-domain attack like this is unusual and demonstrates how attackers are becoming more inventive.

For the Colorama typosquat, the following packages were flagged: coloramapkgsw, coloramapkgsdow, coloramashowtemp, coloramapkgs, and readmecolorama. The bogus Python libraries based on colorizr were colorizator and coloraiz.

The packages contained toxic payloads that allowed remote access, remote machine control, and access to sensitive data. On Windows, they attempt to avoid detection by bypassing endpoint protection, such as antivirus software.

 that offered a Python SDK for Alibaba’s AI services. Alibaba provides a range of products in the AI domain that cover LLMs, computer vision, natural language processing, and AI-driven applications across multiple industries. The three bogus packages were: aliyun-ai-labs-snippets-sdk, ai-labs-snippets-sdk, and aliyun-ai-labs-sdk.

None of the packages contained functional code related to AI; they were just malware used to extract sensitive information. The attackers used toxic payloads in PyTorch models, encoded as zipped 

. Pickle has a vulnerability: It allows serialized Python objects to execute arbitrary code, giving attackers a way of bypassing standard security controls.

 designed to exfiltrate all data sent to the API for the popular messaging service Telegram. The gems, fastlane-plugin-telegram-proxy and fastlane-plugin-proxy_teleram, are typosquats on the Fastlane open-source plugin, an automation tool for mobile app developers. Fastlane can be used for code signing, compiling, app store uploads, notifications, and managing metadata.

The malicious gems were almost identical to the legitimate plugin, with one crucial difference. The API endpoint had been switched to the attacker’s endpoint, intercepting sensitive data. Stealing API data gives the attackers access to authentication tokens, messages, uploaded files, and credentials.

Cloudsmith offers a strong line of defense against malicious packages with our policy management tools, including Enterprise Policy Management (EPM). All you need is identifying information, such as name or version, to build a policy that quarantines packages before they have a chance to infect your software supply chain.

, we demonstrate how easy it is to block packages based on version numbers. If you know the package names, you can easily put together a policy, for example:

Packages matching the policy can be tagged or quarantined, allowing you to control the identification and use of one of these vulnerable packages.

 on how to block pages based on multiple conditions.

To find out more about policies and security in Cloudsmith, 

Ian Taylor

Tech Content Director

Multiple Malicious Packages Discovered on PyPI, npm, and RubyGems

Yet another supply chain attack has surfaced, this time using the xrpl library to sneak through malicious packages. 

 is recognised as the recommended npm library for integrating the 

 with JavaScript/TypeScript applications, and has over 140k downloads a week.

Our security team quickly responded to this threat and found that no Cloudsmith customers are currently using any of the affected versions.

The attack strategy was to introduce five suspect versions of the library, masquerading as genuine releases. They inserted a crypto-stealing backdoor by adding malicious code that could leak private keys and silently sign fraudulent transactions.

npmjs have recently released version 4.2.5, which overrides the compromised versions.

 can get a full and detailed description of the attack from Charlie Eriksen at 

XRP supply chain attack: Official NPM package infected with crypto stealing backdoor.

The vulnerability is logged with the CVE Dictionary Entry of 

XRPL Dependencies - A Critical Security Risk

The XRPL is a Layer 1 blockchain built for payments and asset transfers. Layer 1 blockchain is the foundational infrastructure of a blockchain. This is where core functions are handled, such as validating transactions, securing the network, and ensuring consensus around transactions and ownership.

The XRPL is used by financial institutions, fintech companies, developers, and startups, mostly for payments, asset tokenization, and building lightweight financial applications.

A supply chain attack on a package integrating with the XRPL can have serious implications. It could expose private keys, hijack transactions, or leak sensitive data, without compromising the ledger itself. If xrpl.js is compromised, any apps using it could unknowingly sign malicious transactions or leak user information, which could result in stolen funds. XRPL dependencies are critical to security.

Any security features can and should be tested against real-world threats. Cloudsmith’s Enterprise Policy Management (EPM) includes policy-as-code, meaning custom policies can be written against precise requirements to block known exploits.

For the xrpl.js attack, we know the bogus versions, so it’s easy to write Rego code that checks your repository against the known versions. Cloudsmith can then quarantine the packages if there’s a match against npm packages named xrpl:

 information on setting up and configuring policy code, see 

Enterprise Policy Management Example: Quarantine Packages Using Policy as Code

smith and see how it can stop supply chain attacks.

XRPL Supply Chain Attack and How to Block it Using Cloudsmith’s Enterprise Policy Management

Enterprise Policy Management (EPM) is a programmable policy-as-code layer that controls the security, compliance, and flow of artifacts across the software supply chain. Teams can codify rules once and apply them continuously across repositories. With Cloudsmith’s platform, organizations extend policy enforcement across teams, environments, and geographies without introducing friction, including the open source packages that the chain depends on.

Our EPM solution is powered by data at every stage. The policy engine has access to all available package metadata to inform decisions. Every policy action is recorded with full context, providing detailed logs for customers to support audits and investigations. EPM includes compliance dashboards, that surface insights in security, compliance, and policy activity. This gives you continuous oversight and helps you refine your approach.

This article provides an overview of EPM and how it strengthens the software supply chain. For a worked example using policy as code, see 

We built EPM because governance should not slow you down; it should accelerate trust. Threats to your software supply chain are evolving faster than human oversight can track, and automation is the only viable path to resilience. EPM puts policy enforcement early in the development process. It makes decisions transparent and implements your security and compliance posture into something repeatable, testable, and version-controlled, like the rest of your codebase. Developers get immediate insight to help select packages. They know which meet policy standards for security, licensing, and quality.

Policies are codified rules that automate decisions and enforce rules on which packages are allowed in your software supply chain. They provide guardrails that ensure security, compliance, and operational consistency. Policies can block vulnerable packages, restrict problematic licenses, and control access.

For example, an enterprise may add a policy that stops packages with high-risk vulnerabilities from reaching production environments. The policy would be prescribed by logic as follows:

Define logic that evaluates vulnerability criteria and applies a quarantine action to affected packages.

The criteria specifies that the vulnerability must be listed in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database.

The policy then checks if the vulnerability exceeds a defined 

If conditions are met, the package can either be quarantined and blocked from promotion to production or tagged with additional context for further forensics.

This previous example is a vulnerability policy and is one of the types Cloudsmith EPM supports:

 prevent non-compliant code from being used.

 automate tagging, quarantining, or deleting based on metadata.

Without strong policy management, teams face increased risk and unnecessary effort:

- Missing automation allows known CVEs or malicious packages to reach production.

 - Teams must scramble for audits instead of demonstrating continuous compliance.

- Engineers spend hours reviewing dependencies or waiting for late-stage approvals.

Without shared policies, standards vary across teams and environments.

Without codified policies, organizations cannot fully benefit from the scale and speed of the cloud.

Catching vulnerabilities early in the software delivery lifecycle reduces both the financial cost of remediation and the risk of reputational damage.

EPM was built to avoid these issues in response to real-world supply chain threats and close collaboration with our customers. Codification and automation provide a unified approach for teams to enforce decisions that were previously enforced manually and inconsistently, proving less robust or scalable.

In an automated delivery environment, policies are essential for reducing manual overhead, preventing costly mistakes, and proving compliance, and have particular relevance within the organization:

-For CISOs, policies are the cornerstone of a secure software supply chain. They enable proactive threat mitigation, enforce compliance with frameworks like SLSA and SC2CF, and provide the audit trails required for regulatory confidence. Cloudsmith’s EPM lets CISOs shift from just enforcing checklists to actively collaborating with engineering teams by using the same tools. Implementing automated policies makes it easier for the engineering team to build securely.

- CTOs are focused on enabling product velocity without compromising architectural integrity. Effective policy management acts as a safeguard for CTOs, giving them confidence to move fast with greater safety, supporting both innovation and security goals. With EPM, they can align engineering output with business goals, ensure consistent implementation of best practices, and reduce the operational burden of manual reviews.

Teams immediately benefit by switching from public repositories to Cloudsmith as a curated repository for their developers. Policies then provide clarity, speed, and safety for engineering teams. Instead of guessing what is allowed, developers get immediate feedback when a package or dependency violates a rule. Our EPM integrates policy checks directly into the artifact pipeline, shifting decision-making left and reducing the noise and frustration caused by late-stage security reviews. 

EPM: Cloudsmith’s Approach to Policy Management

Maximum Flexibility: Policy-As-Code, Open Policy Agent, and Rego

Cloudsmith builds for developers, and EPM continues that focus by applying code's flexibility and automation to policy management. EPM takes a policy-as-code approach using an engine built on codification to make policies flexible, versioned, testable, and part of the everyday development workflow. It uses repeatable logic and brings security and compliance into the same toolchain engineers already use.

 - Teams write policies in Rego to define clear, actionable rules that operate on artifact metadata, repository structure, and scan data. We chose 

 because it is an established, open-source policy language widely used in infrastructure and platform security. Rego allows teams to write expressive, testable rules and reason over structured data, which aligns with how Cloudsmith models package metadata and security inputs.

 OPA is a general-purpose policy engine that evaluates rules written in Rego. Cloudsmith integrates OPA into its EPM engine to provide a programmable, scalable way to enforce policy across artifacts. Because OPA is already well established in platform tooling like Kubernetes and Terraform, teams can manage policies in a format they know and trust, without switching tools or inventing new processes.

- EPM also offers key features through the Cloudsmith UI. This supports essential policy management controls, letting users operate EPM without the need to dive into policy-as-code.

You can see an example of the Rego code used to implement the policy given in Vulnerability Policy Example above.

Cloudsmith’s policy engine lets you create and automate vulnerability policies to an exact specification. Policies evaluate packages as they arrive and apply structured logic to make decisions based on severity, exploitability, and metadata. We made package data available so you have the information to tailor and align your policies to the datasets that matter most.

The following capabilities form the foundation of Cloudsmith’s approach to automated vulnerability policies:

Vulnerability Management & Dependency Awareness

 - EPM scans artifacts continuously and examines both the dependencies developers choose directly and the ones that come bundled with them. This helps teams understand the full scope of their exposure, especially when vulnerabilities are introduced through nested packages or upstream registries.

 - CVSS scores represent how severe a vulnerability is, while EPSS scores estimate how likely it is to be exploited in the real world. Cloudsmith supports both scoring systems to help teams write policies that prioritize the vulnerabilities that pose the highest risk.
See 

Cloudsmith introduces EPSS Scoring in Enterprise Policy Management

 - Teams can preview how a policy will behave before activating it. This reduces the risk of unintended disruption and helps refine logic before activation. Once a policy is active, EPM logs each decision, making actions traceable and audit-ready.

EPM continues to evolve, and we’re expanding the scope of what policies can evaluate. This includes extending scanning to third-party sources like OpenSSF Scorecards. We’re enriching package metadata with contextual signals, giving policies a broader view to make more accurate decisions.

Legal teams and engineering organizations need to manage license risk at scale. Cloudsmith EPM allows teams to define precise rules about which licenses are permitted, restricted, or prohibited across repositories and environments. Policies can block packages with unknown, copyleft, or non-compliant licenses before they are introduced into critical environments. These rules operate on package metadata and are enforced automatically at sync, ensuring consistent application across teams and projects.

EPM license management includes the following key capabilities:

 - Packages with prohibited licenses are blocked by codifying license rules into policy logic. These policies evaluate license metadata before packages reach environments where risk cannot be tolerated, such as production environments or regulated systems.

 -Policies can reflect both internal legal requirements and external compliance frameworks. Teams can author policies that support organization-specific license strategies while aligning with broader standards such as SPDX or OpenChain.

Manage Internal Remediation SLAs with Time-Based Policies

Time-based policies help teams manage the lifecycle of packages based on changing risk, review cycles, or policy timing. These policies allow organizations to enforce rules that adapt over time, such as delaying access to a package until it has passed a minimum review period or increasing enforcement if a vulnerability remains unaddressed beyond a defined threshold.

EPM’s time-based policy management includes CVE lifecycle enforcement. A policy can allow packages with a known high severity CVE to remain in a non-production repository for a defined period. If no fix is applied during that window, the policy escalates enforcement by blocking promotion, triggering quarantine, or flagging the package for remediation. This gives teams time to assess and respond while maintaining clear accountability and control.

We’re extending policy capabilities to increase support for time-based controls. This includes defining policies that delay promotion, trigger re-evaluation, or expire package access after a specific time window. This will support workflows like phased rollouts, cooling-off periods, or automatic clean-up of outdated packages.

Cloudsmith EPM allows teams to define precise policies in line with their organization’s compliance requirements. These examples reflect common use cases in vulnerability management, license enforcement, and exploitability scoring.

Time and Score Balanced CVE Remediation Policies

Customers can use EPM to build policies that align with their organisation’s internal CVE remediation timelines or industry best practices. Policies could escalate enforcement based on how long a CVE has gone unpatched.

For example, quarantine any package that has a:

CVE with a CVSS score of 9 or more that was reported 7 or more days ago.

CVE with a CVSS score of more than 7 that was reported 30 or more days ago.

CVE with a CVSS score of more than 4 that was reported 60 or more days ago.

Customers can use EPM to control which software licenses are permitted in their environments. Many organizations prevent the use of copyleft licenses because these licenses can require proprietary source code to be made public. Copyleft licenses, such as the GNU General Public License (GPL), impose obligations that conflict with closed development. Teams often prefer permissive licenses such as MIT, Apache, or BSD to minimize legal risk.

Quarantine any package that carries a GNU General Public License (GPL).

Quarantine any GPL-licensed package found in production repositories, with the highest legal exposure.

Customers can strengthen their vulnerability management by using the 

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) 

as an additional prioritization tool. EPSS provides a daily probability estimate for the likelihood of a CVE being exploited in the wild. This helps teams move beyond severity alone and focus remediation efforts on the vulnerabilities most likely to be targeted.

Quarantine any package containing a CVE with an EPSS score of 0.2 or more.

EPM: Policy Management for the Vigilant Enterprise

Software governance is an operational necessity. Cloudsmith EPM provides a programmable layer that helps teams codify their organization's vision for secure and compliant software and then enforces those standards automatically.

By aligning security, legal, and engineering teams around shared, automated rules, EPM removes friction and gives control, making governance part of the pipeline.

To discover how EPM can solve your policy management needs, 

Enterprise Policy Management with Cloudsmith

Securing Excellence: A Personal Perspective from Victor Suarez, IT Operations Manager

As the IT Operations Manager at Cloudsmith, it gives me immense pleasure to share the exciting news that we have successfully completed our surveillance audit for ISO 27001:2013. This global standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) has been a cornerstone of our commitment to security, and I'm thrilled to provide a personal perspective on this achievement.

The road to ISO 27001:2013 recertification was not just a routine audit; it was a journey fueled by our collective dedication to elevating our security standards. Embarking on what we fondly called the "Year of Security" in 2021, the entire Cloudsmith team worked tirelessly to ensure that our security practices aligned with the highest international standards.

ISO 27001:2013 is not just a certification; it's a testament to our commitment to you, our valued customers. It signifies that we have implemented a comprehensive framework that goes beyond IT, covering every aspect of our organisation - people, processes, and controls. Your data's security is our top priority, and this recertification is the proof of our unwavering dedication to ensuring its integrity and privacy.

In essence, ISO 27001:2013 is the gold standard, and obtaining certification is not just a validation of our existing practices but an acknowledgment of our continuous efforts to enhance our security posture. It's about instilling confidence in you, our customers, that when we say we take security seriously, we mean it.

I want to express my gratitude to the entire Cloudsmith team for their hard work and commitment throughout this journey. Achieving ISO 27001:2013 is a collective triumph, and I am proud to be a part of a team that values security excellence.

As we step into the future, rest assured that Cloudsmith remains steadfast in its pursuit of security excellence. We are not merely meeting standards; we are setting new benchmarks to ensure that your trust in us is always well-placed.

I'm genuinely excited about what this achievement represents - a fortified commitment to security, a collaborative effort, and a promise to continue exceeding your expectations. Thank you for entrusting us with your data security, and we look forward to delivering even greater security excellence in the years to come.

Victor Suarez

IT Manager

Cloudsmith Achieves ISO 27001:2013 Recertification

Cloudsmith proudly introduces support for private Hex package repositories, marking a significant milestone in supply chain security and package management for Erlang and Elixir teams.

With Cloudsmith, you can manage, develop and distribute your Hex packages in your own private Hex registry using familiar tooling, ensuring seamless integration into your existing workflow.

Our fully managed platform provides global distribution for remote teams, with 410 points of presence around the world, ensuring elasticity to scale with your team's needs.

Enjoy peace of mind with built-in security scanning for malware and CVEs, and define how to handle low, medium, and critical issues.

Plus, our transparent pricing makes Cloudsmith affordable for teams of all sizes, and you'll receive quality Engineer led support, ensuring a smooth experience from start to finish.

Hex is a package manager for the BEAM ecosystem; any language that compiles to run on the BEAM VM, such as elixir and Erlang, can be used to build Hex packages.

Hex is an open-source project initiated in early 2014, and continues to evolve under the stewardship of Six Colors AB which was founded in 2018 by Hex's creator, Eric Meadows-Jönsson.

Since its inception, Hex has become indispensable for Erlang and Elixir developers, facilitating dependency management and third-party library integration with ease.

With Cloudsmith's launch of private Hex repositories, developers now have a secure and flexible solution for hosting and distributing Hex packages internally for development or externally for distribution.

Running your private Hex repository on Cloudsmith provides numerous advantages:

 Develop and securely share Hex packages internally and share them privately to other teams anywhere in the world.

 Seamlessly distribute and deploy your organization's Hex packages within CI/CD pipelines.

 Distribute Hex packages globally as commercial software, with granular control over access and distribution.

Mirror public Hex packages and insulate your organization from uncontrolled public upstream.

 Capture the precise state of dependencies at specific versions/releases for improved version control.

 Manage access to Hex packages efficiently with Cloudsmith's comprehensive access management features.

Getting started with Cloudsmith and Hex is straightforward:

and create a repository to host your Hex packages.

Publishing your Hex packages to Cloudsmith

Add Cloudsmith as a repository using the Mix client:

Create your Hex package following standard procedures for building and packaging your Erlang or Elixir project.

Ensure that your Hex package is properly configured and ready for publication. This includes updating the 

 file with the necessary metadata and dependencies. Simply update the 

 with your Cloudsmith repository's URL and authentication details like this:

For detailed setup instructions and integration guidance, refer to 

 or the contextual documentation within your Cloudsmith repository.

Cloudsmith's private Hex repositories provide a robust and flexible solution for managing Hex packages within your organization.

As the only cloud-native, global, and universal artifact management platform designed for secure software development and distribution, Cloudsmith provides the essential security, reliability, and control necessary to secure and streamline package management workflows.

We're extremely proud to be able to support the Erlang and Elixir ecosystems with this first (non-official) implementation of public and private Hex registries.

Start leveraging Cloudsmith today and experience the benefits of hosting your Hex packages in the world's first private Hex repository service.

Cloudsmith blog

Multiple Malicious Packages Discovered on PyPI, npm, and RubyGems

XRPL Supply Chain Attack and How to Block it Using Cloudsmith’s Enterprise Policy Management

Enterprise Policy Management with Cloudsmith

Cloudsmith Achieves ISO 27001:2013 Recertification

World's First Private Hex Repository with Cloudsmith