Essential npm Security Tools to Protect Against Supply Chain Attacks in 2025

The npm ecosystem has become a primary target for sophisticated supply chain attacks. Since mid-2024, North Korean threat actors have published hundreds of malicious packages to the npm registry, affecting tens of thousands of downloads. These attacks, part of campaigns like Contagious Interview and Moonstone Sleet, have evolved from simple typosquatting to complex social engineering schemes targeting developers through fake job interviews and coding assignments.

The scale of this problem is staggering. In November 2025 alone, researchers identified 197 new malicious packages delivering the OtterCookie malware, which had accumulated over 31,000 downloads before removal. These packages employ multi-stage obfuscation, execute malicious postinstall scripts, and exfiltrate cryptocurrency wallet data, browser credentials, and environment variables. With the average npm package pulling in 79 transitive dependencies, a single installation can expose your entire system to compromise.

Traditional vulnerability scanning focused on known CVEs is no longer sufficient. Modern attacks don't wait for vulnerabilities to be disclosed. Malicious packages can be updated, merged, and running in production within hours, long before security researchers have cataloged them. This reality demands a new approach to dependency security, one that combines proactive scanning, behavioral analysis, and continuous monitoring.

1. DepGuardian-cli: Advanced NPM Security Scanner via Dependency Analysis

DepGuardian-cli is a dedicated security tool designed to enhance npm project safety by tackling dependency-related vulnerabilities head-on. It focuses on identifying and resolving issues in your dependency tree that could expose your application to attacks, such as outdated versions, conflicts, and missing peers that hinder security patches.

The tool scans your project's dependencies to detect version conflicts, incompatible packages, and potential security risks arising from fragmented dependency trees. By ensuring only secure, compatible versions are in use, it prevents scenarios where vulnerable package instances go unnoticed or unpatched.

npm install -g depguardian
depguardian scan

DepGuardian provides detailed security-focused recommendations, suggesting updates to eliminate risks and maintain a streamlined dependency structure. Compatible with npm, yarn, and pnpm, it outputs reports in terminal, JSON, or HTML formats for easy integration into CI/CD pipelines.

Key security features include rapid vulnerability-prone conflict detection (2-3 seconds), automatic peer dependency validation to avoid exploitation vectors, and real-time checks against the npm registry for secure version alignments. By proactively managing dependencies, DepGuardian-cli empowers developers to mitigate security threats efficiently and keep projects resilient against exploits.

1. Socket: Real-Time Supply Chain Protection Socket represents the next generation of supply chain security. Unlike traditional scanners that only check for known vulnerabilities, Socket performs deep package inspection to detect malicious behavior before installation.

The tool monitors 70+ signals of supply chain risk, including obfuscated code, suspicious network activity, filesystem access, shell command execution, and install scripts. Socket's research team has identified over 200 malicious packages removed from npm in the past 30 days alone.

bashnpm install -g @socketsecurity/cli
socket npm install

Socket wraps the npm command transparently, scanning packages in real-time as you install them. If it detects risks like malware, typosquats, or hidden code, it pauses the installation and provides detailed information about the threat. You can then choose to proceed or abort.
The tool integrates seamlessly into existing workflows. Add alias npm="socket npm" to your shell configuration, and every npm command automatically runs through Socket's security layer. This protects against dangerous commands like npx that immediately execute downloaded code.
Socket also offers GitHub integration, providing security feedback directly on pull requests so developers can address issues before they reach production. The platform blocks typosquatting attacks, detects obfuscated or minified code, and reports when dependency updates introduce risky API usage.

1. Snyk: Enterprise-Grade Vulnerability Management Snyk has become the industry standard for comprehensive security scanning across the software development lifecycle. It combines vulnerability detection with automated remediation and continuous monitoring. The platform scans for known CVEs in your dependencies and transitive dependencies, providing detailed vulnerability reports with severity classifications, exploit information, and fix recommendations. Snyk's database is constantly updated with newly disclosed vulnerabilities.

bashnpm install -g snyk
snyk auth
snyk test
snyk monitor

Running snyk test performs a local scan and generates a detailed report of vulnerabilities with remediation guidance. The snyk monitor command creates a snapshot of your dependencies that Snyk continuously monitors, alerting you when new vulnerabilities are discovered or patches become available.

Snyk offers tight integration with Git platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket. It can automatically scan every commit and pull request, flagging those that introduce new vulnerabilities. This shift-left approach gives developers immediate security feedback during code review.
The platform provides precision patches for vulnerabilities that can't be resolved through version upgrades. When a dependency deep in your tree has a vulnerability but no compatible update exists, Snyk can apply targeted patches that fix the specific issue without breaking your application.
Snyk also offers IDE extensions for VS Code and other editors, showing vulnerability counts inline as you code. This real-time feedback helps developers make security-conscious decisions about which packages to use.

1. npm audit: Built-In Security Baseline The npm CLI includes a native security audit command that scans your dependency tree against the GitHub Advisory Database. While it has limitations, it provides a zero-configuration baseline for vulnerability detection.

bashnpm audit
npm audit fix
npm audit fix --force

Running npm audit analyzes your package.json and package-lock.json files, checking all dependencies against known vulnerabilities. The report classifies issues by severity (critical, high, moderate, low) and provides remediation guidance.

The npm audit fix command automatically installs compatible updates to vulnerable dependencies, respecting semantic versioning constraints. For issues requiring major version changes, use npm audit fix --force, though this may introduce breaking changes.

npm audit runs automatically during npm install, providing immediate feedback when you add new packages. This catches known vulnerabilities at installation time, though it can't protect against zero-day attacks or malicious packages not yet flagged.

The tool checks direct dependencies, devDependencies, bundled dependencies, and optional dependencies, but not peer dependencies. You can exclude development dependencies with --production to focus on packages that ship with your application.
Limitations include noise from development dependencies, lack of continuous monitoring, no vulnerability suppression mechanism, and the inability to detect behavioral malware. These gaps are why npm audit works best as part of a layered security strategy.

1. Audit Tool Integration: CI/CD Pipeline Security No single tool catches everything. A robust security posture requires multiple tools working together across your development pipeline. In your CI/CD pipeline, implement a security gate that runs multiple scanners before allowing code to merge or deploy:

yaml# Example GitHub Actions workflow

• name: Run DepGuardian
  run: depguardian scan

• name: Run Socket scan
  run: socket npm audit

• name: Run Snyk test
  run: snyk test --severity-threshold=high

• name: Run npm audit
  run: npm audit --audit-level=high

Each tool brings unique capabilities. DepGuardian ensures clean dependency management, Socket detects behavioral threats, Snyk provides comprehensive vulnerability tracking, and npm audit offers baseline protection. Together, they create defense in depth.
Configure tools to fail builds based on severity thresholds. Critical and high-severity issues should block deployments, while moderate and low-severity findings can generate warnings for manual review.
Regularly update your security tools themselves. New detection signatures and behavioral patterns are added frequently to counter evolving attack techniques.

Additional Security Practices

Beyond tooling, adopt these practices to strengthen your security posture:
Disable install scripts by adding ignore-scripts=true to your .npmrc file. Postinstall scripts are a common attack vector. The recent Shai-Hulud worm and numerous North Korean campaigns have exploited them to execute malicious code during installation.
Pin dependency versions in your package-lock.json and commit this file to version control. This ensures consistent installations across environments and prevents automatic updates to compromised versions.
Use package managers with security features. pnpm offers a minimumReleaseAge setting that delays installation of new packages, giving the community time to identify malicious releases before they reach your system.

Enable two-factor authentication on your npm account. Compromised maintainer accounts are frequently used to inject malicious code into legitimate packages.

Review dependency updates carefully. Don't blindly accept automated updates, especially for packages you don't actively use. Remove unused dependencies to reduce your attack surface.
Monitor your published packages if you maintain open source projects. Check your publishing history regularly to ensure no unauthorized releases have occurred.

Limit environment variables and secrets exposure. Store sensitive data in encrypted secret managers rather than plaintext environment files. Recent attacks specifically target environment variables for credential theft.
Conclusion

The npm ecosystem faces an unprecedented wave of supply chain attacks from well-resourced threat actors. Traditional reactive security models that only check for known vulnerabilities are insufficient against attackers who can compromise packages and reach production within hours.
A modern security strategy requires multiple layers of protection: proactive behavioral analysis from tools like Socket, comprehensive vulnerability management from Snyk, dependency health monitoring from DepGuardian, and baseline scanning from npm audit. Combined with secure development practices like disabling install scripts and carefully reviewing updates, this approach significantly reduces your risk of compromise.

Security is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. Regularly audit your dependencies, keep your security tools updated, and stay informed about emerging threats. The tools and practices outlined here provide a solid foundation for protecting your applications against supply chain attacks in 2025 and beyond.

The stakes are high. A single malicious dependency can compromise your entire infrastructure, steal customer data, or inject backdoors into your production systems. Invest in security tooling now, before you become the next victim of a supply chain attack.