Mandrake spyware sneaks onto Google Play again, flying under the radar for two years


In April 2024, Kaspersky researchers discovered a suspicious sample that appeared to be a new version of Mandrake. Ensuing analysis revealed as many as five Mandrake applications, which had been available on Google Play from 2022 to 2024 with more than 32,000 installs in total, while staying undetected by any other vendor.

The new samples included new layers of obfuscation and evasion techniques, such as moving malicious functionality to obfuscated native libraries, using certificate pinning for C2 communications, and performing a wide array of tests to check if Mandrake was running on a rooted device or in an emulated environment.

Read more…
Source: Kaspersky


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Deep Dive Into a Linux Rootkit Malware

    January 13, 2025

    This is a follow-up analysis to a previous blog about a zero day exploit where the FortiGuard Incident Response (FGIR) team examined how remote attackers exploited multiple vulnerabilities in an appliance to gain control of a customer’s system. At the end of that blog, Fortinet researchers revealed that the remote attacker had deployed a rootkit (a ...

  • Meet FunkSec: A New, Surprising Ransomware Group, Powered by AI

    January 10, 2025

    The FunkSec ransomware group emerged in late 2024 and published over 85 victims in December, surpassing every other ransomware group that month. FunkSec operators appear to use AI-assisted malware development, which can enable even inexperienced actors to quickly produce and refine advanced tools. The group’s activities straddle the line between hacktivism and cybercrime, complicating efforts to ...

  • Cracking the Code: How Banshee Stealer Targets macOS Users

    January 9, 2025

    Since September, Check Point Research (CPR) has been monitoring a new version of the Banshee macOS Stealer, a malware that steals browser credentials, cryptocurrency wallets, and other sensitive data. Undetected for over two months, Banshee’s latest version introduced string encryption taken from Apple’s XProtect, likely causing antivirus detection systems to overlook the malware. Threat actors distributed ...

  • EAGERBEE, with updated and novel components, targets the Middle East

    January 6, 2025

    In recent investigation into the EAGERBEE backdoor, kaspersky researchers found that it was being deployed at ISPs and governmental entities in the Middle East. The researchers analysis uncovered new components used in these attacks, including a novel service injector designed to inject the backdoor into a running service. Additionally, Kaspersky team discovered previously undocumented components (plugins) ...

  • Analyzing Malicious Intent in Python Code – A Case Study

    December 23, 2024

    Fortinet’s AI-driven OSS malware detection system recently identified two malicious packages: Zebo-0.1.0 on November 16, 2024, and Cometlogger-0.1 on November 24, 2024. Malicious software often masquerades as legitimate code, hiding its harmful features behind complex logic and obfuscation. In this analysis, Fortinet researchers examine the Python scripts behind these two packages, outline their malicious behaviors, and provide ...

  • Cloud Atlas seen using a new tool in its attacks

    December 23, 2024

    Known since 2014, Cloud Atlas targets Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We’re shedding light on a previously undocumented toolset, which the group used heavily in 2024. Victims get infected via phishing emails containing a malicious document that exploits a vulnerability in the formula editor (CVE-2018-0802) to download and execute malware code. When opened, the document downloads a ...