AI invents package names. Attackers register them

Coding assistants sometimes invent package names. Attackers publish malware under those names and wait.

2 April 2026 · 1 min read

Ask an AI coding assistant to solve a problem and it may tell you to install a package that sounds perfect but doesn’t exist. The model made up a plausible name. Researchers noticed the same invented names come up again and again, so attackers register them on npm and PyPI with malicious code inside. The trick has a name now: slopsquatting.

The person installing it trusts the suggestion because it came from a tool they use every day.

Before installing a package you haven’t heard of, check it on the registry: age, downloads, maintainer, linked repository.
Be suspicious of packages created in the last few weeks with few downloads.
Use a lockfile and review dependency changes in pull requests, including ones an agent made.
If your AI tool can run npm install or pip install by itself, require approval for new packages.

The assistant is fast and confident. It doesn’t check whether a package is real. You have to.