Attackers typically try to pass off malware as legitimate applications or as potentially unwanted programs that users deliberately search for and download, such as cheats or cracks. They often rely on ad and affiliate networks to deliver their creations to victims’ devices. This post examines a less conventional case: a well-known backdoor distributed under the guise of adware. The attackers may have chosen this distribution method because the adware was signed by the developer. On top of that, users often manually add these apps to exclusions, so their useful features don’t get blocked.
Some time ago, a client asked us to analyze a file with the MD5 hash c24e99f9437feacaa63766a3cde3fe3d and add it to our detection database. We initially classified it as adware, but a cursory analysis turned up suspicious network activity, which prompted us to dig deeper. It turned out the sample did far more than serve ads. In fact, its advertising functionality doesn’t even work; instead, it triggers an infection chain that delivers the ValleyRAT backdoor.
Read more…
Source: Kaspersky
Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- Ancient ICEFOG APT malware spotted again in new wave of attacks
June 7, 2019
Malware developed by Chinese state-sponsored hackers that was once thought to have disappeared has been recently spotted in new attacks, in an updated and more dangerous form. Spotted by FireEye senior researcher Chi-en (Ashley) Shen, the malware is named ICEFOG (also known as Fucobha). It was initially used by a Chinese APT (advanced persistent threat, a technical ...
- Hacker Discloses Second Zero-Day to Bypass Patch for Windows EoP Flaw
June 7, 2019
An anonymous security researcher going by the name of SandboxEscaper today publicly shared a second zero-day exploit that can be used to bypass a recently patched elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows operating system. SandboxEscaper is known for publicly dropping zero-day exploits for unpatched Windows vulnerabilities. In the past year, the hacker has disclosed ...
- New RCE vulnerability impacts nearly half of the internet’s email servers
June 7, 2019
A critical remote command execution (RCE) security flaw impacts over half of the Internet’s email servers, security researchers from Qualys have revealed today. The vulnerability affects Exim, a mail transfer agent (MTA), which is software that runs on email servers to relay emails from senders to recipients. According to a June 2019 survey of all mail servers ...
- A botnet is brute-forcing over 1.5 million RDP servers all over the world
June 6, 2019
Security researchers have discovered a new botnet that has been attacking Windows systems running a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connection exposed to the Internet. Discovered by Renato Marinho of Morphus Labs, the researcher says the botnet has been seen attacking 1,596,571 RDP endpoints, a number that will most likely rise in the coming days. Named GoldBrute, the ...
- BlueKeep ‘Mega-Worm’ Looms as Fresh PoC Shows Full System Takeover
June 5, 2019
A working exploit for the critical remote code-execution flaw shows how an unauthenticated attacker can achieve full run of a victim machine in about 22 seconds. A researcher has created a proof-of-concept Metasploit module for the critical BlueKeep vulnerability, which successfully demonstrates how to achieve complete takeover of a target Windows machine. Reverse engineer Zǝɹosum0x0 tweeted about his ...
- Platinum is back
June 5, 2019
In June 2018, we came across an unusual set of samples spreading throughout South and Southeast Asian countries targeting diplomatic, government and military entities. The campaign, which may have started as far back as 2012, featured a multi-stage approach and was dubbed EasternRoppels. The actor behind this campaign, believed to be related to the notorious ...