Technical Tip: How FortiCNAPP protects from the Axios npm supply chain attack and remote access trojan

This article describes a supply chain attack targeting the axios npm package, the most popular JavaScript HTTP client library with over 100 million weekly downloads. On March 31, 2026, two malicious versions (axios@1.14.1 and axios@0.30.4) were published to the npm registry via a compromised maintainer account. The malicious releases inject a hidden dependency on a trojanized package called plain-crypto-js@4.2.1, which deploys a cross-platform remote access trojan (RAT) targeting macOS, Windows, and Linux.

The attack was operationally sophisticated: the malicious dependency was pre-staged 18 hours in advance with a clean decoy version to establish publishing history. Both the 1.x and 0.x release branches were poisoned within 39 minutes of each other. The dropper uses a double-layer obfuscation scheme (XOR cipher + reversed Base64), contacts a command-and-control server at sfrclak[.]com:8000, downloads platform-specific second-stage RAT payloads, and then self-destructs by deleting itself and replacing its own package.json with a clean stub to evade forensic detection.

The malicious versions were live for approximately 2–3 hours (00:21–03:29 UTC) before npm removed them. Any system that ran npm install during this window and pulled the affected versions should be treated as fully compromised.

Affected versions:

axios (npm):

• 1.14.1 (malicious – removed from registry).
• 0.30.4 (malicious – removed from registry).

plain-crypto-js (npm):

• 4.2.1 (malicious RAT dropper – replaced with security-holder stub).
• 4.2.0 (clean decoy – no malicious payload, published to establish account history).

Additional Compromised Packages:

• @qqbrowser/openclaw-qbot@0.0.130 – includes tampered axios@1.14.1.
• @shadanai/openclaw (versions 2026.3.31-1, 2026.3.31-2) – vendors plain-crypto-js directly.

Safe Versions:

• axios@1.14.0 (1.x branch).
• axios@0.30.3 (0.x branch).

Advisory IDs:

• LW-2026-AXIOS-01 – FortiCNAPP internal advisory (axios).
• LW-2026-PLAINCRYPTOJS-01 – FortiCNAPP internal advisory (plain-crypto-js).
• GHSA-fw8c-xr5c-95f9 – Embedded Malicious Code via compromised maintainer account (axios).
• GHSA-2x9r-6wxq-hrr7 – Embedded Malicious Code deploying cross-platform RAT (plain-crypto-js).
• MAL-2026-2306 – Malicious code in plain-crypto-js.

Attack Vector: Supply chain compromise via hijacked npm maintainer account; triggered automatically on npm install via post-install hook.

Potential Impact: Full remote access trojan deployment (macOS, Windows, Linux), credential theft, arbitrary code execution, and lateral movement.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs):

In-depth information can be found at:

• Fortinet Threat Signal - Axios Supply Chain Attack
• GitHub Advisory – GHSA-fw8c-xr5c-95f9 (axios)
• GitHub Advisory – GHSA-2x9r-6wxq-hrr7 (plain-crypto-js)
• GitHub Issue – axios/axios#10604 (Community triage and maintainer response)