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CRITICAL Received

CVE-2026-48158

use-context-selector is a React useContextSelector hook in userland Between 2026-05-18 15:57:18 and 2026-05-19 15:24:34, the default branch contained malicious commits 9d8481a513b7b0d1c0941b220c69b25de748641b through 6f2dae054ca014068bdbbb4db96006424d674124 that executed remote attacker-controlled code on developer machines during `npm install`. The commits were removed by force-push, but local clones, forks, and direct-SHA URLs may still contain them, and `npm install` against an affected checkout will still execute the code today. The package was not published to npm. `src/install.js` was added and wired into the `postinstall` script. It fetched a JavaScript payload from an attacker-controlled HTTPS endpoint (configurable via an environment variable), disabled TLS verification, and evaluated the response as code with `require` available. Execution was deliberately skipped on CI and cloud/serverless environments, targeting developer workstations. The second-stage payload was attacker-hosted and cannot be reconstructed. Assume full compromise of anything reachable from a Node process with the user's permissions. Those who ran `npm install` against an affected checkout on a developer machine on or after 2026-05-18 15:57:18 should treat the machine as compromised, rotate every credential the machine could reach, audit account activity** since 2026-05-18 15:57:18, and clean local clones.

Published 10 Aug 2026, 16:19 UTC Last modified 10 Aug 2026, 16:19 UTC
01

Attack profile

The conditions required to exploit this vulnerability and its potential impact.

Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Scope Not assessed
Confidentiality Not assessed
Integrity Not assessed
Availability Not assessed
02

Affected products

Product applicability statements supplied with the NVD record.

NVD has not published structured affected-product data for this record.
03

Weakness classification

CWE categories help security teams group the underlying software weakness.

04

Source references

External advisories, patches and technical reports attached to this CVE record.