{"id":"MAL-2026-16408","title":"Malicious code in snap-queue (PyPI)","summary":"Malicious code in snap-queue (PyPI)","severity":"critical","exploited":true,"vendor":"snap-queue","product":"snap-queue","ecosystem":"pip","affected":["snap-queue"],"published":"2026-09-22","updated":"2026-09-23","sourceUpdated":"2026-09-23T02:30:05.572573583Z","source":"OSV","sourceUrl":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-16408","references":[{"url":"https://bad-packages.kam193.eu/pypi/package/snap-queue"},{"url":"https://pypi.org/project/snap-queue/1.0.0/"}],"tags":["osv","pip","malware"],"ingestedAt":"2026-09-24T07:16:01.857Z","slug":"MAL-2026-16408","body":"## Overview\n\n\n---\n_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_\n\n## Source: amazon-inspector (e0bb29642def9150e89bacf4da4e1a64f7bc972cd145053cbb0feee0baa768f3)\nThe sdist's setup.py defines a `_wus_boot()` function that is invoked at module top-level before `setup(...)`, so it runs automatically on `pip install snap-queue`. The function uses `subprocess.Popen` to launch `pythonw.exe` (replacing `python.exe` in `sys.executable`) running a sibling file `_snapqueue_core.py` with `creationflags=0x08000000` (CREATE_NO_WINDOW), and wraps the whole call in a blanket `try/except: pass`. Standard modules are aliased under underscore names (`_os`, `_sys`, `_sp`) to reduce visual prominence. The launched `_snapqueue_core.py` is undocumented in README and package metadata and is unrelated to the advertised FIFO-queue functionality. The combined shape — install-time execution, deliberate console-window suppression on Windows, error-swallowing, and detachment of the child from the pip process — is a hidden install-time stager that hands control on the installer's machine to undocumented sibling code the moment the package is installed.\n\n## Source: kam193 (62bf582784fd41b3484157f6454ddcb6ab2ae10a5d93abeb19a5bfa5642b7e64)\nDuring installation, the package attempts to silently execute code. In analyzed versions, the payload file was missing.\n\n\n---\n\nCategory: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.\n\n\nCampaign: 2026-09-snap-queue\n\n\nReasons (based on the campaign):\n\n\n - The package overrides the install command in setup.py to execute malicious code during installation.\n\n\n## Affected packages\n\n- `snap-queue`\n\n## Remediation\n\nRefer to the advisory for the patched release.","depth":"abyssal","depthScore":70,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":52.3,"likelihood":0,"exploitation":18,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}