---
id: "MAL-2026-18110"
kind: "package"
aliases: ["MAL-2026-18110"]
title: "Malicious code in facewareretargeter (PyPI)"
severity: "critical"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: [{"name": "facewareretargeter", "fixed": [], "affected": "= 9.9.9", "ecosystem": "pypi"}]
ecosystems: ["pypi"]
tags: ["malicious", "package"]
not_affected_if: []
published_at: "2026-10-20T20:48:43+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-26T20:52:01+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-26T21:05:48+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "osv-malicious", "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-18110", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-26T20:52:01+00:00"}]
---

# Malicious code in facewareretargeter (PyPI)

## Affected

- pypi:facewareretargeter affected = 9.9.9 fixed ?

## Timeline

- 2026-10-26T20:52:01+00:00 osv-malicious https://osv.dev/vulnerability/MAL-2026-18110

## From the sources

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

## Source: amazon-inspector (afcd41ab1e378f4c7d767acb2b9e9199a4276e125d6e84aba3627bf37c879f24)
facewareretargeter 9.9.9 ships a 2-line stub module and a setup.py whose install_requires declares a single dependency, `tracer-batch-stream-chain`, sourced from a direct https URL (`https://artifacts.vacsdk.com/pypi/tracer_batch_stream_chain-9.9.9.tar.gz`) rather than a PyPI version range. On `pip install facewareretargeter`, pip fetches that tarball from the non-PyPI host and executes its setup.py / build backend on the installer's machine, with no version pin, no hash, and no integrity check. The host is not a known Python index and is unrelated to any declared repository or homepage, so whoever controls `artifacts.vacsdk.com` can deliver arbitrary code to every installer at any time. The package name resembles a plausible internal/private tool and uses an implausibly high version (9.9.9), which is the dependency-confusion shape used to win resolution against an internal package.

## Source: kam193 (3d3c954fb5fd6d1ddfc1d5e22129468136fb43fe78c6d69f0df134925b6a8b08)
The package uses fake http-downloaded dependencies to track downloads, and has no other purpose.


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Category: PROBABLY_PENTEST - Packages looking like typical pentest packages, but also anything that looks like testing, exploring pre-prepared kits, research & co, with clearly low-harm possibilities.


Campaign: 2026-10-vacsdk


Reasons (based on the campaign):


 - dependency-confusion

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