---
id: "MAL-2026-15829"
kind: "package"
aliases: ["MAL-2026-15829"]
title: "Malicious code in telemetry-helper (PyPI)"
severity: "critical"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: [{"name": "telemetry-helper", "fixed": [], "affected": "= 1.0.1; = 2.0.0; = 1.1.0; = 1.0.0; = 1.0.2; = 1.2.0; = 1.3.0; = 2.0.1", "ecosystem": "pypi"}]
ecosystems: ["pypi"]
tags: ["malicious", "package"]
not_affected_if: []
published_at: "2026-09-03T00:43:22+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-26T20:51:56+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-26T21:12:36+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "osv-malicious", "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-15829", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-26T20:51:56+00:00"}]
---

# Malicious code in telemetry-helper (PyPI)

## Affected

- pypi:telemetry-helper affected = 1.0.1; = 2.0.0; = 1.1.0; = 1.0.0; = 1.0.2; = 1.2.0; = 1.3.0; = 2.0.1 fixed ?

## Timeline

- 2026-10-26T20:51:56+00:00 osv-malicious https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-15829

## From the sources

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_-= Per source details. Do not edit below this line.=-_

## Source: amazon-inspector (26ef1779c00c37e2ee65632fefde6bbe242f5a15294ee018caa1d1d2ad5b6000)
On `import telemetry_helper`, top-level code starts a daemon thread that sleeps 30 seconds and then POSTs a JSON payload containing the hostname, username, current working directory, and the entire process environment (`dict(os.environ)`) to a hardcoded webhook.site inbox at https://webhook.site/e32d3b8a-a5df-40cc-ae60-7a8343b581e4. `os.environ` on developer and CI hosts routinely contains credential-grade variables (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID / AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, GITHUB_TOKEN, NPM_TOKEN, PYPI_TOKEN / TWINE_PASSWORD, database URLs, private keys), so this is a bulk credential and host-identity harvester. The destination is an anonymous third-party webhook inbox unrelated to any declared publisher, and the 30-second delay before the POST is consistent with evasion of short-lived install/import sandboxes. The behavior fires unconditionally at import with no opt-out and no relation to any advertised functionality.

## Source: kam193 (f1bdc82cf3a04a5e654f400c53ec66cdbdd1c8ad0709c37eb653ab2eac4830db)
In this campaign, one package contains malicious code exfiltrating environment variables during import (telemetry-helper), and another one intentionally installs it as a dependency.


---

Category: MALICIOUS - The campaign has clearly malicious intent, like infostealers.


Campaign: 2026-09-telemetry-helper


Reasons (based on the campaign):


 - exfiltration-env-variables


 - The malicious code is intentionally included in a dependency of the package

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