install-scripts
Safeguard articles tagged "install-scripts" — guides, analysis, and best practices for software supply chain and application security.
7 articles
npm 12 Turned Install Scripts Off. The keyv Worm Used a preinstall Hook Anyway.
Install scripts have been off by default since npm 12 shipped in July 2026. Four weeks later a worm propagated through preinstall hooks. A default is not a control until you prove it is enforced.
npm v12 Disabled Install Scripts. Attackers Adapted in Three Days.
On 8 July 2026 npm v12 shipped with install scripts off by default — closing what GitHub called the ecosystem's largest code-execution surface. By 11 July, the jscrambler payload was executing on import instead. A study in why one-vector mitigations buy days, not years.
Lessons from the ua-parser-js Compromise: Four Hours, Eight Million Downloads a Week
A hijacked npm account turned a tiny User-Agent parser into a cryptominer and password stealer for a few hours in 2021. Here is what account takeover does at ecosystem scale.
cross-env and the crossenv Typosquat: A Supply Chain Case Study
In 2017, a malicious crossenv package on npm stole environment variables from developers who mistyped cross-env. The incident is still the cleanest case study in typosquatting we have.
Best Practices for npm Lockfile Security 2026
Your package-lock.json is a supply chain control, not build noise. Six habits — npm ci, script blocking, lockfile linting, provenance checks — that stop most npm attacks cold.
Mitigating npm Install Scripts Without Breaking Your Build
`--ignore-scripts` is the blunt fix that breaks node-sass and better-sqlite3. Here is the surgical version that keeps builds green and postinstalls contained.
npm Install Script Security: The Code That Runs Before Your Code
npm install scripts execute arbitrary code during package installation. They are the most exploited vector in JavaScript supply chain attacks.
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