npm Adds 2FA-Gated Publishing and Package Install Controls Against Supply Chain Attacks  Ravie Lakshmanan  May 23, 2026 Software Supply Chain / DevSecOps GitHub has rolled out new controls for npm to improve the security of the software supply chain, giving maintainers the ability to explicitly approve a release prior to the packages becoming publicly available for installation. Called staged publishing, the feature is now generally available on npm. It mandates that a human maintainer pass a two-factor authentication (2FA) challenge to approve a package before it is pushed to the npmjs[.]com. "Instead of a direct publish that immediately makes a package version available to consumers, the prebuilt tarball is uploaded to a stage queue where a maintainer must explicitly approve it before it becomes installable," GitHub said . The Microsoft-owned subsidiary said the change ensures "proof of presence" for every publish, including those that come from non-interactive CI/CD workflows and trusted publishing with OpenID Connect (OIDC) authentication. Before using staged publishing , package maintainers have to meet the following criteria - Have publish access to the package Package already exists on the npm registry, meaning a brand new package cannot be staged 2FA is enabled for the account Developers can use the command "npm stage publish" from the root directory of the package to submit it to a staging area. To use this command, it's essential to update to npm CLI 11.15.0 or newer. For optimal protection, GitHub is recommending that staged publishing be paired with trusted publishing using OIDC. A second update focused on npm relates to the introduction of three new install source flags alongside the existing -allow-git flag - --allow-file: Controls installs from local file paths and local tarballs --allow-remote: Controls installs from remote URLs, including https tarballs --allow-directory: Controls installs from local directories The flags allow developers to "apply the same explicit-allowlist approach to every non-registry install source," GitHub said. The development comes amid a massive surge in software supply chain attacks targeting open-source ecosystems over the past few months, with one cybercriminal group known as TeamPCP engaging in poisoning popular packages at an unprecedented scale through a self-perpetuating cycle of compromises. Found this article interesting? Follow us on Google News , Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE      Tweet  Share  Share  Share   Share on Facebook  Share on Twitter  Share on Linkedin  Share on Reddit  Share on Hacker News  Share on Email  Share on WhatsApp Share on Facebook Messenger  Share on Telegram SHARE  cybersecurity , DevSecOps , GitHub , NPM , Open Source , Package Security , Software Supply Chain , Two-Factor Authentication ⚡ Top Stories This Week Ollama Out-of-Bounds Read Vulnerability Allows Remote Process Memory Leak Four OpenClaw Flaws Enable Data Theft, Privilege Escalation, and Persistence On-Prem Microsoft Exchange Server CVE-2026-42897 Exploited via Crafted Email Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller Auth Bypass Actively Exploited to Gain Admin Access ThreatsDay Bulletin: PAN-OS RCE, Mythos cURL Bug, AI Tokenizer Attacks, and 10+ Stories Windows Zero-Days Expose BitLocker Bypasses And CTFMON Privilege Escalation New Fragnesia Linux Kernel LPE Grants Root Access via Page Cache Corruption 18-Year-Old NGINX Rewrite Module Flaw Enables Unauthenticated RCE Microsoft's MDASH AI System Finds 16 Windows Flaws Fixed in Patch Tuesday [Webinar] How Modern Attack Paths Cross Code, Pipelines, and Cloud Microsoft Patches 138 Vulnerabilities, Including DNS and Netlogon RCE Flaws New Exim BDAT Vulnerability Exposes GnuTLS Builds to Potential Code Execution Mini Shai-Hulud Worm Compromises TanStack, Mistral AI, Guardrails AI and More Packages cPanel CVE-2026-41940 Under Active Exploitation to Deploy Filemanager Backdoor ⚡ Weekly Recap: Linux Rootkit, macOS Crypto Stealer, WebSocket Skimmers and More Hackers Used AI to Develop First Known Zero-Day 2FA Bypass for Mass Exploitation ⭐ Featured Resources [Webinar] Learn How to Handle Critical SOC Alerts With AI Support Identify Internal Attack Surfaces More Efficiently With a Free Assessment [eBook] Get the 3-Number SOC Diagnostic to Reduce Queue Risk [Guide] Stop Email Fraud Before It Turns Into Ransomware Damage