A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and hallucinating dependencies will damage your software supply chain. DO NOT trust blindly on AI generators. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and hallucinating dependencies will damage your software supply chain. DO NOT trust blindly on AI generators. TL;DR: Avoid hallucinated or fake packages that can compromise security and stability. TL;DR: Avoid hallucinated or fake packages that can compromise security and stability. Problems 😔 Unsupervised Vibe Coding
Security risks
Dependency confusion
Too Many Imports
Typesquatting
Injection attacks
Supply chain corruption
Untrusted sources
Package Poisoning Unsupervised Vibe Coding Vibe Coding Security risks Dependency confusion Too Many Imports Too Many Imports Typesquatting Typesquatting Injection attacks Supply chain corruption Untrusted sources Package Poisoning Package Poisoning Solutions 😃 Validate package names
Use trusted repositories
Lock dependencies
Monitor for typos
Audit third-party packages
Lock dependency versions
Use private repositories
Verify package checksums
Implement allow-lists
Audit dependencies regularly Validate package names Use trusted repositories Lock dependencies Monitor for typos Audit third-party packages Lock dependency versions Use private repositories Verify package checksums Implement allow-lists Audit dependencies regularly Context 💬 When AI generated code adds external libraries to your project, you are assuming they come from reliable sources. If you're not careful, you might accidentally pull a malicious or incorrect package. https://hackernoon.com/from-helpful-to-harmful-how-ai-recommendations-destroyed-my-os?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/from-helpful-to-harmful-how-ai-recommendations-destroyed-my-os?embedable=true This is called "package hallucination." Attackers often publish fake packages with names similar to popular ones (typesquatting), hoping developers will install them by mistake. These packages can inject harmful code into your system through the package supply chain. In a recent paper, the authors found a lot of evidence of these attacks in the wild. recent paper Researchers tested 16 language models and generated more than half a million code snippets. They found that nearly 440,000 dependencies pointed to libraries that simply don't exist. These are very harmful backdoors for hackers. Sample Code 📖 Wrong ❌ // package.json
{
  "name": "my-app",
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "lodahs": "1.0.0",  // Typosquatting attack
    "internal-logger": "2.1.0" 
    // Vulnerable to dependency confusion
  }
} // package.json
{
  "name": "my-app",
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "lodahs": "1.0.0",  // Typosquatting attack
    "internal-logger": "2.1.0" 
    // Vulnerable to dependency confusion
  }
} Right 👉 // package.json
{
  "name": "my-app",
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "18.2.0",
    "lodash": "4.17.21",  // Correct spelling with exact version
    "@company-scope/internal-logger": "2.1.0" // Scoped package
  },
  "resolutions": {
    "lodash": "4.17.21"  
    // Force specific version for nested dependencies
  },
  "packageManager": "yarn@3.2.0" // Lock package manager version
} // package.json
{
  "name": "my-app",
  "dependencies": {
    "react": "18.2.0",
    "lodash": "4.17.21",  // Correct spelling with exact version
    "@company-scope/internal-logger": "2.1.0" // Scoped package
  },
  "resolutions": {
    "lodash": "4.17.21"  
    // Force specific version for nested dependencies
  },
  "packageManager": "yarn@3.2.0" // Lock package manager version
} Detection 🔍 [x]Semi-Automatic [x]Semi-Automatic [x] You can detect this smell by reviewing all dependencies manually and using tools like automated linters or IDEs that flag suspicious or misspelled package names. manually Also, dependency lock files help track exactly which versions were installed. Tags 🏷️ Security Security Level 🔋 [x]Intermediate [x]Intermediate [x] Why the Bijection Is Important 🗺️ Modeling a one-to-one relationship between real-world dependencies and those in your code ensures trust and predictability. one-to-one When you allow hallucinated packages, you break this trust, potentially introducing defects, security holes, and maintenance nightmares. defects AI Generation 🤖 AI generators can unintentionally create this smell by suggesting incorrect or non-existent package names, as the article proved. the article proved They may confuse similar-sounding libraries or suggest outdated/renamed packages. AI Detection 🥃 AI can fix this smell when given clear instructions to validate package names against official registries or enforce naming conventions. With proper training data, AI tools can flag potential typesquatting attempts automatically. Try Them! 🛠 Remember: AI Assistants make lots of mistakes Remember: AI Assistants make lots of mistakes Suggested Prompt: verify and replace invalid packages Suggested Prompt: verify and replace invalid packages Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions



ChatGPT

ChatGPT



Claude

Claude



Perplexity

Perplexity



Copilot

Copilot



Gemini

Gemini



DeepSeek

DeepSeek



Meta AI

Meta AI



Grok

Grok



Qwen

Qwen Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions



ChatGPT

ChatGPT



Claude

Claude



Perplexity

Perplexity



Copilot

Copilot



Gemini

Gemini



DeepSeek

DeepSeek



Meta AI

Meta AI



Grok

Grok



Qwen

Qwen Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions Without Proper Instructions Without Proper Instructions With Specific Instructions With Specific Instructions ChatGPT

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Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Perplexity

Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Copilot

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Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini DeepSeek

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Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Conclusion 🏁 Package hallucination is a dangerous code smell that exposes your application to serious threats. By validating every dependency and using strict version controls, you protect yourself from malicious injections and ensure software integrity. Relations 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxviii https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxviii https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xix https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xix https://hackernoon.com/code-smell-263-squatting?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/code-smell-263-squatting?embedable=true More Information 📕 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2406.10279?embedable=true https://arxiv.org/pdf/2406.10279?embedable=true Disclaimer 📘 Code Smells are my opinion. opinion Credits 🙏 Photo by JJ Ying on Unsplash JJ Ying Unsplash Controlling complexity is the essence of computer programming. Controlling complexity is the essence of computer programming. Fred Brooks Fred Brooks https://hackernoon.com/400-thought-provoking-software-engineering-quotes?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/400-thought-provoking-software-engineering-quotes?embedable=true This article is part of the CodeSmell Series. https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-i-xqz3evd?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-i-xqz3evd?embedable=true

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