Mini Shai-Hulud DAEMONIZED Payload Marker Detection

Tim Peck@timpeck

•updated May 29, 2026•6•0•34

Detects the __DAEMONIZED=1 environment variable marker used by the vpmdhaj npm supply chain campaign (Mini Shai-Hulud) to spawn a detached credential-harvesting payload during npm install. This marker prevents re-entry when payload.bin is re-launched on subsequent require() calls. Microsoft explicitly recommends this detection, noting that the exact string __DAEMONIZED=1 has no legitimate npm ecosystem use, leading to near-zero false positives.