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Kimsuky Unleashes TRANSLATEXT Malware on South Korean Academic Institutions

 


An investigation has found that a North Korea-linked threat actor, known as Kimsuky, has been involved in the use of a malicious Google Chrome extension to steal sensitive information to collect information as part of an ongoing intelligence collection effort. Observing the activity in early March 2024, Zscaler ThreatLabz has codenamed the extension TRANSLATEXT, emphasizing its ability to gather email addresses, usernames, passwords, cookies, and screenshots as well as its ability to gather this information. 

This targeted campaign is said to have targeted South Korean academia, specifically those focused on North Korean politics. There is a notorious North Korean hacker group known as Kimsuky that has been active since 2012, perpetrating cyber espionage and financial-motivated attacks against South Korean businesses. Kimsuky is widely known as a notorious hacker crew. In the remote server's PowerShell script, general information about the victim is uploaded as well as creating a Windows shortcut that enables a user to retrieve another script from the remote server through a PowerShell script. TRANSLATEXT's exact delivery method remains unclear, which makes it even more difficult for defenders to protect themselves from it. 

Despite this, Kimsuky is well known for utilizing sophisticated spear-phishing and social engineering attacks to trick the target into initiating the infection process. Two files appear to be connected to Korean military history when the attack begins, a ZIP archive that appears to contain two files, a Hangul Word Processor document and an executable file. Once the executable file has been launched, it retrieves a PowerShell script from the attacker's server. In addition to exporting the victim's information to a GitHub repository, this script also downloads additional PowerShell code via a Windows shortcut (LNK) file and executes it. 

It is clear from this multi-stage attack process that Kimsuky is an extremely sophisticated and well-planned operation. By using a familiar and seemingly legitimate document, the attackers decrease the chances of the targets being suspicious. As well as displaying an innovative method of blending malicious activities into regular internet traffic, GitHub is also utilized in the initial data export process, resulting in a much harder time finding and blocking malicious actions for traditional security systems. There are a few groups that are also associated with the Lazarus cluster or part of the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB). 

For instance, APT43, ARCHIPELAGO, Black Banshee, Emerald Sleet, Springtail, and Velvet Chollima are groups that are affiliated with the Lazarus cluster. There have been several incidents in the last few weeks in which the group has weaponized a vulnerability in Microsoft Office (CVE-2017-11882), distributed a keylogger, and used job-themed lures in attacks aiming at the aerospace and defence industries to drop an espionage tool that gathers data and executes secondary payloads. "The backdoor is unknown to the public and the attacker can conduct basic reconnaissance, drop additional payloads, and then take over or remotely control the computer." 

CyberArmor said. Despite Kimsuky's recent involvement in cyber espionage, it has given this campaign the name Niki. It is no secret that Kimsuky is not a new player. Since at least 2012, the group has been active and has developed a reputation for orchestrating cyber-espionage and financial-motivated attacks primarily on South Korean institutions, which has earned them a reputation as a notorious group. It has been reported that the group has stolen classified information, and committed financial fraud, and ransomware attacks. Throughout history, they have been one of the most formidable cyber threat actors associated with North Korea due to their adaptability and persistence. 

There is no doubt that Kimsuky is capable of blending cyber espionage with financially motivated operations, indicating a versatile approach to achieving the North Korean regime's objectives, whether they are to gather intelligence or generate revenue to support it. As of right now, it is not clear what is the exact mechanism for accessing the newly discovered activity, although it is known that the group is known for utilizing spear-phishing and social engineering attacks to launch the infection cycle. 

It is believed that the attack began with the delivery of a ZIP archive with the intent of containing Korean military history at the time, which contains two files: a word processor document in Hangul and an executable at the time of the attack. As soon as the executable is launched, a PowerShell script is extracted from a server controlled by the attacker that downloads additional PowerShell code with the aid of a Windows shortcut file (LNK) and creates a GitHub repository where the compromised victim's information is periodically uploaded. 

After the GitHub repository has been created, the attacker deletes the LNK file in question. This is the statement posted by Zscaler, a security company that found a GitHub account, created on February 13, 2024, that briefly hosted the TRANSLATEXT extension under the name "GoogleTranslate.crx," regardless of how it is distributed at the moment. TRANSLATEXT, which masquerades as Google Translate, incorporates JavaScript code to bypass security measures for services like Google, Kakao, and Naver; siphon email addresses, credentials, and cookies; capture browser screenshots; and exfiltrate stolen data. It's also designed to fetch commands from a Blogger Blogspot URL to take screenshots of newly opened tabs and delete all cookies from the browser, among others.

Phishing Campaigns Exploit Cloudflare Workers to Harvest User Credentials

 

Cybersecurity researchers are raising alarms about phishing campaigns that exploit Cloudflare Workers to serve phishing sites designed to harvest user credentials associated with Microsoft, Gmail, Yahoo!, and cPanel Webmail. This attack method, known as transparent phishing or adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) phishing, employs Cloudflare Workers to act as a reverse proxy for legitimate login pages, intercepting traffic between the victim and the login page to capture credentials, cookies, and tokens, according to Netskope researcher Jan Michael Alcantara. 

Over the past 30 days, the majority of these phishing campaigns have targeted victims in Asia, North America, and Southern Europe, particularly in the technology, financial services, and banking sectors. The cybersecurity firm noted an increase in traffic to Cloudflare Workers-hosted phishing pages starting in Q2 2023, with a spike in the number of distinct domains from just over 1,000 in Q4 2023 to nearly 1,300 in Q1 2024. The phishing campaigns utilize a technique called HTML smuggling, which uses malicious JavaScript to assemble the malicious payload on the client side, evading security protections. 

Unlike traditional methods, the malicious payload in this case is a phishing page reconstructed and displayed to the user on a web browser. These phishing pages prompt victims to sign in with Microsoft Outlook or Office 365 (now Microsoft 365) to view a purported PDF document. If users follow through, fake sign-in pages hosted on Cloudflare Workers are used to harvest their credentials and multi-factor authentication (MFA) codes. "The entire phishing page is created using a modified version of an open-source Cloudflare AitM toolkit," Alcantara said. 

Once victims enter their credentials, the attackers collect tokens and cookies from the responses, gaining visibility into any additional activity performed by the victim post-login. HTML smuggling is increasingly favored by threat actors for its ability to bypass modern defenses, serving fraudulent HTML pages and other malware without raising red flags. One highlighted instance by Huntress Labs involved a fake HTML file injecting an iframe of the legitimate Microsoft authentication portal retrieved from an actor-controlled domain. This method enables MFA-bypass AitM transparent proxy phishing attacks using HTML smuggling payloads with injected iframes instead of simple links. 

Recent phishing campaigns have also used invoice-themed emails with HTML attachments masquerading as PDF viewer login pages to steal email account credentials before redirecting users to URLs hosting "proof of payment." These tactics leverage phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) toolkits like Greatness to steal Microsoft 365 login credentials and bypass MFA using the AitM technique. The financial services, manufacturing, energy/utilities, retail, and consulting sectors in the U.S., Canada, Germany, South Korea, and Norway have been top targets. 

Threat actors are also employing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to craft effective phishing emails and using file inflation methods to evade analysis by delivering large malware payloads. Cybersecurity experts underscore the need for robust security measures and oversight mechanisms to combat these sophisticated phishing campaigns, which continually evolve to outsmart traditional detection systems.

Evasive Sign1 Malware Hits 39,000 WordPress Sites in Widespread Cyber Assault

 


In the past six months, a major malware campaign known as Sign1 has compromised over 39,000 WordPress sites, using malicious JavaScript injections to direct people to scams. In a report published this week by Sucuri, it is estimated that no less than 2,500 sites have been infected by this latest malware variant over the past two months. 

As part of the attack, rogue JavaScript is injected into legitimate HTML widgets or plugins, allowing attackers to insert arbitrary JavaScript, along with other code, which provides attackers with an opportunity for their malicious code to be inserted. It was discovered that a new malicious malware campaign called FakeUpdates was targeting WordPress websites with malware shortly after Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. revealed it. 

In addition to its stealthy nature, Sign1 malware has a perilous reputation due to its stealthy tactics. It generates dynamic URLs through time-based randomization, which is extremely difficult to detect and block with security software. The malware's code is also obfuscated, so it's more difficult to detect it. Sign1 is also able to target visitors to certain websites, including popular search engines and social media platforms. This might be one of the most concerning aspects of malware. 

Sucuri’s report estimates that over 39,000 WordPress websites have been infected with Sign1 so far, suggesting a level of sophistication that could enable attackers to focus on users deemed more susceptible to scams. Sucuri’s report indicates that this level of sophistication suggests an attacker's ability to focus on users who are more likely to be targeted by scammers. Sucuri's client has been breached due to a brute force attack, so website owners should take immediate measures to protect their websites and visitors. 

However, although specific details of how the attackers compromised other sites remain unclear, it is believed that the attackers utilized brute force assaults and plugin vulnerabilities to get into WordPress sites via brute force attacks. When the attackers get inside, they usually use the WordPress plugin Simple Custom CSS and JS to inject their malicious JavaScript through the custom HTML widgets, or they may even use the legitimate Simple Custom CSS and JS plugin as well. 

With its sophisticated evasion tactics, Sign1 can bypass conventional blocking measures by dynamically altering URLs every 10 minutes by utilizing time-based randomization; this allows it to circumvent conventional blocking strategies. Since these domains were registered just before the attacks they carried out, they remain off blocklists because of their fleeting nature. 

The attackers, initially hosted by Namecheap, have since moved their operations to HETZNER for web hosting. Cloudflare provides an additional layer of anonymity through IP address obfuscation for IP addresses. A significant challenge for security tools that attempt to detect the injected code is the intricacies of the injected code, which features XOR encoding and arbitrary variable names, which make it very difficult to detect them. 

The Sucuri insights revealed that the Sign1 malware has evolved to an increasingly sophisticated and stealthy stage, as well as being more resilient to steps taken to block it. Infections have dramatically increased over the past six months, especially with new malware versions unleashed on the market each week. Sign1, which has accelerated its sophistication and adaptability in recent months, has taken on an increasingly sophisticated and adaptive appearance since the campaign was initiated in January 2024. 

As a result of such developments, website administrators must immediately take extra precautions and implement robust protected measures to ensure that their websites remain secure. A HETZNER and Cloudflare server hosts the domains, obscuring both the hosting addresses as well as the IP addresses of the domains. 

Moreover, it may not be obvious that the injection code contains XOR encoding and random names for variables, so if you were to detect it, you would still have a hard time. Approximately six months have passed since the malware campaign started, the researchers concluded, adding that it has been developing actively since then. 

The campaign is still ongoing today. There are always spikes in infections whenever new versions are released by the developers. There has been an attack on about 2,500 websites so far on this latest attack that has been happening since the beginning of January 2024.

To keep a website secure, the researchers recommend that website owners implement a strong combination of usernames and passwords so that their website cannot be breached by brute-force attacks, which could be used against them. The attackers may also gain unrestricted access to your premises the moment you uninstall every plugin and theme that is unused or unnecessary on your website.

GitHub Unveils AI-Driven Tool to Automatically Rectify Code Vulnerabilities

GitHub has unveiled a novel AI-driven feature aimed at expediting the resolution of vulnerabilities during the coding process. This new tool, named Code Scanning Autofix, is currently available in public beta and is automatically activated for all private repositories belonging to GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS) customers.

Utilizing the capabilities of GitHub Copilot and CodeQL, the feature is adept at handling over 90% of alert types in popular languages such as JavaScript, Typescript, Java, and Python.

Once activated, Code Scanning Autofix presents potential solutions that GitHub asserts can resolve more than two-thirds of identified vulnerabilities with minimal manual intervention. According to GitHub's representatives Pierre Tempel and Eric Tooley, upon detecting a vulnerability in a supported language, the tool suggests fixes accompanied by a natural language explanation and a code preview, offering developers the flexibility to accept, modify, or discard the suggestions.

The suggested fixes are not confined to the current file but can encompass modifications across multiple files and project dependencies. This approach holds the promise of substantially reducing the workload of security teams, allowing them to focus on bolstering organizational security rather than grappling with a constant influx of new vulnerabilities introduced during the development phase.

However, it is imperative for developers to independently verify the efficacy of the suggested fixes, as GitHub's AI-powered feature may only partially address security concerns or inadvertently disrupt the intended functionality of the code.

Tempel and Tooley emphasized that Code Scanning Autofix aids in mitigating the accumulation of "application security debt" by simplifying the process of addressing vulnerabilities during development. They likened its impact to GitHub Copilot's ability to alleviate developers from mundane tasks, allowing development teams to reclaim valuable time previously spent on remedial actions.

In the future, GitHub plans to expand language support, with forthcoming updates slated to include compatibility with C# and Go.

For further insights into the GitHub Copilot-powered code scanning autofix tool, interested parties can refer to GitHub's documentation website.

Additionally, the company recently implemented default push protection for all public repositories to prevent inadvertent exposure of sensitive information like access tokens and API keys during code updates.

This move comes in response to a notable issue in 2023, during which GitHub users inadvertently disclosed 12.8 million authentication and sensitive secrets across more than 3 million public repositories. These exposed credentials have been exploited in several high-impact breaches in recent years, as reported by BleepingComputer.

Sophisticated Web Injection Campaign Targets 50,000 Individuals, Pilfering Banking Data


Web injections, a favoured technique employed by various banking Trojans, have been a persistent threat in the realm of cyberattacks. These malicious injections enable cybercriminals to manipulate data exchanges between users and web browsers, potentially compromising sensitive information. 

In a new finding, it has been revealed that the malware campaign that first came to light in March 2023 has used JavScript web injections in an attempt to steal data from over 50 banks, belonging to around 50,000 used in North America, South America, Europe, and Japan.  

IBM Security has dissected some JavaScript code that was injected into people's online banking pages to steal their login credentials, saying 50,000 user sessions with more than 40 banks worldwide were compromised by the malicious software in 2023. As IBM’s researchers explained, it all starts with a malware infection on the victim’s endpoint. 

After that, when the victim visits a malicious site, the malware will inject a new script tag which is then loaded into the browser and modifies the website’s content. That allows the attackers to grab passwords and intercept multi-factor authentication codes and one-time passwords.

IBM says this extra step is unusual, as most malware performs web injections directly on the web page. This new approach makes the attacks more stealthy, as static analysis checks are unlikely to flag the simpler loader script as malicious while still permitting dynamic content delivery, allowing attackers to switch to new second-stage payloads if needed. 

It's also worth noting that the malicious script resembles legitimate JavaScript content delivery networks (CDN), using domains like cdnjs[.]com and unpkg[.]com, to evade detection. Furthermore, the script performs checks for specific security products before execution. Judging by the evidence to hand, it appears the Windows malware DanaBot, or something related or connected to it, infects victims' PCs – typically from spam emails and other means – and then waits for the user to visit their bank website. 

At that point, the malware kicks in and injects JavaScript into the login page. This injected code executes on the page in the browser and intercepts the victim's credentials as they are entered, which can be passed to fraudsters to exploit to drain accounts. The script is fairly smart: it communicates with a remote command-and-control (C2) server, and removes itself from the DOM tree – deletes itself from the login page, basically – once it's done its thing, which makes it tricky to detect and analyze. 

The malware can perform a series of nefarious actions, and these are based on a "mlink" flag the C2 sends. In total, there are nine different actions that the malware can perform depending on the "mlink" value. These include injecting a prompt for the user's phone number or two-factor authentication token, which the miscreants can use with the intercepted username and password to access the victim's bank account and steal their cash. 

The script can also inject an error message on the login page that says the banking services are unavailable for 12 hours. "This tactic aims to discourage the victim from attempting to access their account, providing the threat actor with an opportunity to perform uninterrupted actions," Langus said. Other actions include injecting a page loading overlay as well as scrubbing any injected content from the page.  

"This sophisticated threat showcases advanced capabilities, particularly in executing man-in-the-browser attacks with its dynamic communication, web injection methods and the ability to adapt based on server instructions and current page state," Langus warned. "The malware represents a significant danger to the security of financial institutions and their customers." Cybercriminals are exploiting sophisticated web injection techniques to compromise over 50,000 banks throughout the world as a threat escalating. 

DanaBot or similar malware entails the manipulation of user data through JavaScript injections, which allows them to steal login credentials with ease. In this dynamic attack detected by IBM Security, malicious scripts are injected directly into banking pages, evading conventional detection methods, and resulting in a dynamic attack. 

As a way to prevent malware infections, users are recommended to keep their software up-to-date, enable multi-factor authentication, and exercise caution when opening emails to prevent malware infections. To ensure that we are protected from the evolving and adaptive nature of advanced cyber threats, we must maintain enhanced vigilance in identifying and reporting suspicious activities.

New Web Injection Malware Campaign Steals Bank Data of 50,000 People


In a new finding, it has been revealed that the malware campaign that first came to light in March 2023 has used JavScript web injections in an attempt to steal data from over 50 banks, belonging to around 50,000 used in North America, South America, Europe, and Japan. 

The malware was first discovered by IBM’s security team, where the researchers noted that the threat actors have been preparing for the campaign since December 2022, after buying the malicious domains.

The attacks used scripts that were loaded from the attacker's server to intercept user credentials and one-time passwords (OTPs) by focusing on a particular page structure that is shared by numerous institutions.

The attackers can access the victim's bank account, lock them out by altering security settings, and carry out illicit transactions by obtaining the aforementioned information.

A Stealthy Attack Chain

The attack begins when the threat actors infect the victim’s device with the malware. While IBM’s report did not specify the details of this stage, it is more likely that this is done through malvertizing, phishing emails, etc. 

The malicious software inserts a new script tag with a source ('src') property pointing to an externally hosted script once the victim visits the malicious websites of the attackers. 

On the victim's browser, the malicious obfuscated script is loaded to change the content of webpages, obtain login credentials, and intercept one-time passcodes (OTP).

IBM found this extra step unusual since most malware can perform web injections directly on the web page.

It is also noteworthy to mention that the malicious script uses names like cdnjs[.]com and unpkg[.]com to mimic authentic JavaScript content delivery networks (CDNs) in an attempt to avoid detection. Moreover, the script verifies the existence of particular security products before execution. 

Also, the script tends to continuously mend its behaviour to the command and control server’s instructions, sending updates and receiving specific outputs that guide its activity on the victim’s device. 

A "mlink" flag set by the server controls its various operational states, which include injecting phone number or OTP token prompts, displaying error warnings, or mimicking page loading as part of its data-stealing tactic. 

IBM notes that nine “mlink” variable values can be combined to instruct the script to carry out certain, distinct data exfiltration activities, indicating how a wide range of commands is being supported. 

According to IBM, this campaign is still a work in progress, thus the firm has urged online users to use online banking portals and apps with increased caution.  

JavaScript Registry npm at Risk

 

The JavaScript registry npm, a vital resource for developers worldwide, has recently come under scrutiny due to a significant vulnerability known as manifest confusion. This flaw allows attackers to exploit the npm ecosystem, potentially compromising the integrity and security of countless JavaScript packages. The repercussions of such abuse are far-reaching and could have severe consequences for the development community.

The exploit, first discovered by security researchers, highlights a fundamental flaw in the way npm handles package manifests. Package manifests contain essential information about dependencies, versions, and other metadata necessary for proper functioning. However, attackers can manipulate these manifests, tricking npm into installing malicious or unintended packages.

The severity of the issue is further exacerbated by the fact that the exploit affects not only a specific package or a handful of packages but has the potential to impact the entire npm ecosystem. With over one million packages available for public use, developers relying on npm must be vigilant in ensuring the integrity of their dependencies.

The vulnerability arises from a lack of strict validation and enforcement mechanisms in npm's package management process. By crafting specially designed manifests, attackers can exploit the confusion arising from naming similarities and version discrepancies, effectively bypassing security measures and injecting malicious code into legitimate packages.

The consequences of a successful manifest confusion attack are wide-ranging. Developers relying on npm could unwittingly introduce compromised packages into their applications, leading to a variety of security vulnerabilities and potential breaches. This could result in the theft of sensitive user data, unauthorized access to systems, or the disruption of critical services.

The npm development team has been made aware of the vulnerability and is actively working to address the issue. In response to the community's concerns, npm has implemented stricter validation checks and is exploring ways to enhance the package management process to prevent future attacks. However, mitigating the risk entirely will require the cooperation and diligence of package maintainers and developers.

Developers are recommended to manage their dependencies carefully in the interim. Before integration, it is critical to ensure that packages are authentic and intact, that they come from reliable sources, and that they have not been tampered with. Keeping packages updated to the most recent versions and signing up for vulnerability alerts can both reduce the chance of exploitation.

The npm ecosystem, which enables quick and effective software development, is a key tenet of the JavaScript development community. However, the integrity and security of this ecosystem are seriously threatened by the manifest confusion vulnerability. It is essential that npm and the larger development community solve this problem right away, working together to fortify the defenses against possible attacks and secure the future of JavaScript development.




Challenges With Software Supply Chain & CNAPP


In 2021, sales of CNAPP exceeded $1.7 billion, an increase of roughly 49% over 2020, according to a recent Frost & Sullivan analysis. According to Frost & Sullivan, CNAPP revenue growth will average over 26% annually between 2021 and 2026.

Anh Tien Vu, industry principal for international cybersecurity and the author of the report, projects that by 2026, revenues will surpass $5.4 billion "due to the increasing demand for a unified cloud security platform that strengthens cloud infrastructure security and protects applications and data throughout their life cycle."

How Does CNAPPs Function?

CNAPP platforms combine many security technologies and features to cut down on complexity and expense, offering:
  • The capabilities of the CSPM, CIEM, and CWPP tools are combined across the development life cycle, correlation of vulnerabilities, context, and linkages.
  • Identifying high-risk situations with detailed context.
  • Automatic and guided cleanup to address flaws and configuration errors.
  • Barriers to stopping unauthorized alterations to the architecture.
  • Simple interaction with SecOps ecosystems to quickly deliver notifications.
Security teams must transition from guarding infrastructure to guarding workload-running applications in order to maximize cloud security and compliance, enable DevOps, and reduce friction. That entails, at the very least, protecting the security of the production environment and cloud service configurations, with runtime protection serving as an important extra layer of security.

Attackers are focusing more and more on cloud-native targets in an effort to find vulnerabilities that may be used to compromise the software supply chain. The widespread effect that a vulnerability of this kind can have on the application environment was demonstrated by the Log4Shell flaw in the widely used Log4j Java runtime library last year.

Melinda Marks, a senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, claims that while CNAPP helps businesses to set up DevSecOps processes where software engineers take the initiative to find potential bugs in code before delivering application runtimes into production, it also goes beyond. Before you release your applications to the cloud, this is crucial for preventing security risks since once you do, hackers can access them.

The scanning of development artifacts like containers and infrastructure as code (IaC), cloud infrastructure management (CIEM), runtime cloud workload protection platforms, and cloud security posture management (CSPM) are just a few of the siloed capabilities that CNAPPs combine. Together with a more uniform approach and improved awareness of the risk associated with cloud-native computing environments, CNAPP offers standard controls to reduce vulnerabilities.

Significantly, CNAPP also promotes communication between teams working on application development, cybersecurity, and IT infrastructure, opening the door to finding and fixing flaws before apps are put into use. CNAPP features are being added to security platforms by security manufacturers like Check Point and Palo Alto Networks. Marks cautions against the common misunderstanding that shifting security left is all about putting security first during the software development and build process.





Cybercrime Utilizes Screenshotter to Find Targets in US

Organizations in Germany and the United States are targets of a new threat actor identified as TA886 that requires new, proprietary malware to spy on users and steal their data from affected devices. Proofpoint reported that it initially identified the previously unidentified cluster of activity in October 2022 and that it persisted into 2023.

Malicious Microsoft Publisher (.pub) attachments with macros, URLs leading to.pub files with macros, or PDFs with URLs that download risky JavaScript files are some of the ways the threat actor targets victims.

According to the researchers, which gave the operation the name Screentime, it is being carried out by a brand-new malicious attacker known as TA866. Although it is possible that the group is well-known to the larger cybersecurity sector, no one has been able to connect to any other groups or initiatives.

According to Proofpoint, TA866 is an "organized actor capable of performing well-planned attacks at scale based on their availability of custom tools, ability and connections to buy tools and services from other vendors, and increasing activity volumes."

As a result of some variable names and phrases in their stage-two payloads being written in Russian, the researchers further speculate that the threat actors may be Russian. In Screentime, TA866 would send phishing emails in an effort to get victims to download the harmful WasabiSeed payload. According to the stage-two payloads that the threat actors deem appropriate at the time, this malware develops persistence on the target endpoint.

AHK Bot has been seen downloading and loading the Rhadamanthys information thief into memory while also deploying a script to inspect the victim's computer's Active Directory (AD) domain. According to Proofpoint, the AD profile may result in the compromising of additional domain-joined hosts.

As per Proofpoint, the activity continued into 2023 after the first indications of Screentime advertisements appeared in October 2022. The campaigns have an indiscriminate impact on all industries in terms of verticals.


Prototype Pollution-like Bug Variant Found in Python


Prototype Pollution

Prototype pollution is a severe vulnerability class associated with prototype-based languages, the most popular among them being JavaScript. 

However, a researcher has discovered Python-specific variants of prototype pollution, and other class-based programming languages may also be exposed to similar threats. 

With prototype pollution, a threat actor may access and control the default values of an object’s properties. In addition to allowing the attacker to alter the application's logic, this can also result in denial-of-service attacks or, in severe cases, remote code execution. 

From Prototype Pollution to Class Pollution 

In JavaScript, each object inherits the ‘prototype’ of the parent object, which includes all the functions and characteristics of that object. JavaScript objects can access the functionality of their parents by traversing their prototypes. 

In the course of runtime, the prototype could as well be modified, making JavaScript dynamic and flexible but also dangerous. Prototype pollution attacks utilize and exploit this characteristic in order to modify the behavior of JavaScript applications and to conduct malicious activities. It is claimed that class-based languages like Python are resistant to such manipulations. 

However, security researcher Abdulraheem Khaled has come across a coding scheme that can enable threat actors to conduct prototype pollution-like attacks on Python programs. He has labeled it as ‘class pollution’ in a blog post documenting his findings. 

In regards to the findings, he told The Daily Swig that he discovered the attack while attempting to translate the concepts of JavaScript prototype pollution to Python. 

Manipulating Python Classes 

In order to exploit Python objects, the attacker is required to have an entry point that utilizes the user input to set the attributes of an object. If the user input succeeds in determining both the attribute name and value, the attacker can then exploit it to alter the program’s behavior. 

“The key factor to look for is whether the application uses unsanitized user-controllable input to set attributes of an object (controlling the attribute name to be set and its value) or not,” states Khaled to The Daily Swig. 

Attackers may be able to access parent classes, global variables, and more if the target method employs recursive loops to traverse over the object's characteristics. This merge is deemed "unsafe" by Khaled. 

An attacker could, for instance, alter command strings that the system executes, manipulate the value of important variables, or start denial of service (DoS) attacks by rendering crucial classes dysfunctional.

All Python Applications are Vulnerable 

According to the security researcher, all types of Python applications are vulnerable to these exploits as long as they continue accepting contaminated user input and implement a form of object attribute assignment that is ‘unsafe’. 

In his investigation, he came across various instances where popular Python libraries had an unsafe merge function, which then exposed them to class pollution attacks.

The simplest of all impacts of class pollution would be DoS. Although, these attacks may have much greater and more severe impacts on Python online apps. 

“Prototype pollution is definitely one of the topics that deserve more attention from the community, and we started to see more focus on it recently […] Class pollution might be a new vulnerability that has just come to light, [but] I expect to see it in other programming languages soon,” Khaled concluded.  

Recent Updates in Microsoft Teams Includes Decreased Latency

At its Ignite 2022 conference, Microsoft released a number of new Teams chat and meeting capabilities. The major news is that Microsoft intends to revamp Microsoft Teams to enhance the current channel experience.

When dealing with the Teams desktop client in some crucial situations, Microsoft has considerably decreased latency for Windows and Mac users.

The software is now more than 30% faster when navigating between chat and channel threads, according to Jeff Chen, a Microsoft Principal Group Program Manager for Microsoft Teams.

Chen claimed that the updated Teams framework, which now renders the HTML tree more quickly, runs JavaScript more effectively, and serializes arrays with greater efficiency, is the cause of these significant speed increases.

Microsoft also made improvements to messaging latency and page load speeds in June, including 63% faster message-composing box loads and an 11% improvement in scrolling across chat and channel lists.

In February, the business announced that Teams dramatically reduces the amount of power needed for meetings, utilizing up to 50% less power for energy-intensive scenarios in video meetings with more than 10 participants.

New Updates on Teams

Assign seats in Together mode

During virtual meetings, the Together mode enhances the sense that everyone is present in the same space. Meeting planners and presenters can now assign seats to attendees in Together mode thanks to the most recent innovation.

Shared content will open in a separate window

Users will soon have the option to pop out shared meeting content in a separate window, making it easier to see both shared content and meeting participants.

Live captioning in Teams Premium

With live translated captions for Microsoft Teams, meeting attendees may read captions in their native tongue thanks to AI-powered, real-time translations from 40 spoken languages.

Comprehensive call history

Having access to call recordings and transcriptions from call details along with this comprehensive call history provides the background to be productive and effective.

Adobe PDF expertise (collaboration with Microsoft)

To view and edit PDF files in Microsoft Teams, tenant admins can set Adobe Acrobat as the default application in the Teams admin center.

Since June 2020, Redmond has been striving to reduce the number of resources used by Teams, implementing changes gradually. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic and the shift to remote working, Microsoft Teams has had a significant influx of new members, surpassing 270 million monthly active users in January 2021.








Malicious Actors Are Exploiting ‘App Mode’ in Chromium Browsers for Phishing Attacks

 

Thanks to a new phishing technique, malicious actors could siphon private details by merely impersonating legit login forms in Application Mode. 

The Application Mode feature can be accessed in all Chromium-based browsers, which includes Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Brave. 

According to mr.d0x, a security researcher who has also unearthed the Browser-in-the-Browser (BitB) attack and Microsoft WebView2 phishing methods previously, desktop applications are normally harder to spoof, hence, victims don’t pay much attention to as compared to browser windows that are more widely exploited for phishing. 

Chrome's application mode is created to provide native-like experiences in a manner that causes the website to be launched in a separate browser window, while also showing the website's favicon and concealing the address bar. 

Additionally, the hacker-controlled malicious site can employ JavaScript to perform multiple operations, such as immediately closing the window when the victim inputs the credentials or resizing and positioning it to gain the desired result. 

It's worth noting that the methodology works on other operating systems as well, including macOS and Linux, making it a possible cross-platform threat. However, the effectiveness of the assault depends on the hacker gaining control over the computer before following up with this phishing technique, be it via malware or through directing the victim to enable it and run a Windows shortcut with the malicious URL. 

Meanwhile, Google is discontinuing support for Chrome apps in favor of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and web-standard technologies, and the feature is likely to be completely phased out in Chrome 109 or later on Windows, macOS, and Linux. 

"The --app feature was deprecated before this research was published, and we are taking its potential for abuse into account as we consider its future. Users should be aware that running any file provided by an attacker is dangerous. Google's Safe Browsing helps protect against unsafe files and websites,” Google stated.

“While Safe Browsing is enabled by default in Chrome, users may want to enable Enhanced protection, which inspects the safety of your downloads to better warn you when a file may be dangerous. Enhanced protection can be found in Chrome Settings > Privacy and security > Security.We encourage the security research community to continue to report issues and vulnerabilities through our vulnerability rewards program: g.co/chrome/vrp."

 Bogus DDoS Protection Alerts Distribute RATs

Researchers from Sucuri cautioned that malware distributors are luring users into downloading and running malware on their computers by taking advantage of their expertise and innate trust in DDoS protection pages.

DDoS protection alerts are web pages that users' browsers deliver when checks are made to ensure that the visitor is actually a human and not a bot or a DDoS assault participant.

Tactics of the scam 

These warnings would appear to be an inconvenience, but their sole purpose was to serve as preliminary checks before the user accessed the intended web page. They are also important to ensure malicious traffic is blocked before it reaches its objectives.

The attacks start with a malicious JavaScript injection intended to target WordPress sites, which causes a bogus Cloudflare DDoS protection pop-up, according to Sucuri's experts.

When the user clicks on the bogus popup, an ISO file containing a remote access trojan (RAT) is downloaded onto their machine. In addition, the victim is told to open the file to get a verification code needed to access the target website.

The NetSupport RAT, RaccoonStealer information stealer, and two more payloads were seen being dropped by the ISO file.

The RAT is frequently used to screen victims before the distribution of ransomware and has been related to FakeUpdates/SocGholish. According to Malwarebytes researcher Jerome Segura, the ISO file contains a shortcut that pretends to be executable and executes PowerShell from another text file.

NetSupport RAT, which was at first a genuine program called NetSupport Manager, gives hackers remote access to the victim's computer, allowing them to install more malware, steal sensitive data, or even entangle the system in a botnet.

As website owners struggle to distinguish genuine visitors from the voluminous bot traffic, these have grown in popularity in recent years.

"Remote access trojans (RATs) are among the most harmful infections a computer can contract as they offer the attackers total control of the system. The victim is now entirely at their mercy. Both site owners and visitors can take all necessary safety procedures", as per Sucuri.

Users are advised to avoid downloading and opening odd files, update their operating system and applications frequently and consider installing a script-blocking browser extension.




NPM JavaScript Package Repository Targeted by Widespread Cryptomining Campaign

 

Checkmarx researchers have unearthed a new large-scale cryptocurrency mining campaign targeting the NPM JavaScript package repository. 

The hacker behind this malicious campaign, dubbed CuteBoi, published 1,283 modules in the repository and employed over 1,000 different user accounts. The researchers discovered the supply chain assault after spotting a burst of suspicious NPM users and packages designed automatically. 

“Checkmarx SCS team detected over 1200 npm packages released to the registry by over a thousand different user accounts. This was done using automation which includes the ability to pass the NPM 2FA challenge. This cluster of packages seems to be a part of an attacker experimenting at this point,” reads the post published by Israeli application security testing firm Checkmarx. 

All the rogue packages impersonated a near-identical source code from an already existing package named eazyminer that's employed to mine Monero by means of utilizing unused resources of systems such as ci/cd and web servers. One notable modification entails the URL to which the mined cryptocurrency should be sent, although installing the rogue modules will not bring about a negative effect. 

"The copied code from eazyminer includes a miner functionality intended to be triggered from within another program and not as a standalone tool," researcher Aviad Gershon explained. "The attacker didn't change this feature of the code and for that reason, it won't run upon installation." 

As observed in the case of RED-LILI earlier this year, the packages are published via an automation methodology that allows hackers to bypass two-factor authentication (2FA) protections. 

However, while the former involved setting up a custom server and using a combination of tools like Selenium and Interactsh to programmatically design an NPM user account and defeat 2FA, CuteBoi depends on a disposable email service called mail.tm to automate the creation of the users that upload the packages to the NPM repository. 

Specifically, it utilizes a REST API provided by the free platform that enables "programs to open disposable mailboxes and read the received emails sent to them with a simple API call." In this, hackers behind the CuteBoi campaign can circumvent the NPM 2FA challenge when creating a flood of user accounts to publish the packages. 

Earlier this week, security research uncovered another NPM-related large-scale software supply chain attack dubbed IconBurst designed to siphon sensitive data from forms embedded in downstream mobile applications and websites. 

Attack Against NPM Software Supply Chain Unearthed

 

Iconburst's most recent attack is described as a massive and well-planned effort to spread malicious Javascript packages distributed through the open-source NPM package system.

Upon further analysis, evidence of a planned supply chain assault was found, with numerous NPM packages containing jQuery scripts created to steal data from deployed apps that use them, as per researchers.

ReversingLabs noted that the malicious packages we identified are probably used by hundreds or thousands of downstream mobile and desktop programs as well as websites, even if the full scope of this assault is still unknown. In one instance, malicious software had been downloaded more than 17,000 times.

Obfuscation used 

The firm said that its analysis of the modules had found signs of coordination, with malicious modules linked to a select group of NPM publishers and recurrent patterns in the infrastructure that supported them, such as unencrypted domains.

“The revelation of a javascript obfuscator was the first trigger for our team to examine a broad variety of NPM packages, the majority of which had been released within the previous two months and utilized the stated obfuscator. It revealed more than 20 NPM packages in total. When these NPM modules are examined in greater detail, it becomes clear that they are associated with one of a small number of NPM accounts with names like ionic-io, arpanrizki, kbrstore, and aselole,” according to ReversingLabs. 

Meanwhile, Checkmarx said, "Roughly a thousand unique user accounts released over 1200 NPM packages to the registry, which we found. Automation was used, which allowed for the successful completion of the NPM 2FA challenge. At this moment, this collection of packages appears to be a part of an attacker's testing." 

Obfuscated malware data theft 

The de-obfuscated examples underwent a thorough analysis, which showed that every one of them collects form data using jQuery Ajax methods and subsequently exploits that data to different domains controlled by malevolent writers.

To exfiltrate serialized form data to domains under the attacker's control, the malicious packages employ a modified script that extends the functionality of the jQuery ajax() function. The function verifies the URL content before transmitting the data to carry out target filtering checks. 

Attack on supply chain 

The NPM modules which ReversingLabs found have been downloaded more than 27,000 times in total. The attacks occurred for months before coming to attention because very few development firms can identify malicious software within open source libraries and modules.

"It is certain from the report of this study that software development businesses and their clients both require new tools and procedures for evaluating supply chain risks, such as those posed by these malicious NPM packages," researchers told.

"Applications and services are only as secure as their weakest component due to the decentralized and modular nature of application development. The attack's success—more than two dozen malicious modules were made available for download on a well-known package repository, and one of them received 17,000 downloads in just a few weeks—underscores the lax standards for application development and the low barriers that prevent malicious or even vulnerable code from exploiting IT environments and sensitive applications," ReversingLabs further added.

Newly Detected Magecart Infrastructure Discloses the Scale of Ongoing Campaign

 

A recently discovered Magecart skimming campaign has its origins in an earlier attack activity dating back to November 2021. 

To that end, Malwarebytes revealed in a Tuesday investigation that two malware domains identified as hosting credit card skimmer code — "scanalytic[.]org" and "js.staticounter[.]net" — are part of a larger infrastructure used to carry out the attacks. 

Jérôme Segura stated, "We were able to connect these two domains with a previous campaign from November 2021 which was the first instance to our knowledge of a skimmer checking for the use of virtual machines. However, both of them are now devoid of VM detection code. It's unclear why the threat actors removed it, unless perhaps it caused more issues than benefits." 

Based on the other domains discovered, the earliest indication of campaign activity has been around since May 2020. Magecart is a cybercrime syndicate made up of dozens of subgroups that specialise in hacks involving digital credit card fraud through the injection of JavaScript code into e-commerce shops, often on checkout pages. 

Operatives obtain access to websites either directly or through third-party firms that provide software to the targeted websites. While the attacks first received attention in 2015 for targeting the Magento e-commerce platform (the term Magecart is a combination of "Magento" and "shopping cart"), they have now spread to other platforms, including a WordPress plugin called WooCommerce. 

According to a Sucuri study published in April 2022, WordPress has surpassed Magento as the leading CMS platform for credit card skimming malware, exceeding Magento as of July 2021, with skimmers hidden in websites as false photos and seemingly harmless JavaScript theme files. 

Furthermore, during the first five months of 2022, WordPress websites accounted for 61 per cent of known credit card skimmer malware detections, followed by Magento (15.6 per cent), OpenCart (5.5 per cent), and others (17.7 per cent). 

"Attackers follow the money, so it was only a matter of time before they shifted their focus toward the most popular e-commerce platform on the web," Sucuri's Ben Martin stated at the time.

"NakedPages" Phishing Toolkit Advertised for Sale on Cybercrime and Telegram Platforms

 

CloudSEK researchers have unearthed a brand new sophisticated phishing toolkit dubbed "NakedPages” which is advertised for sale on multiple cybercrime platforms and Telegram channels. 

The toolkit, which was designed using NodeJS Framework operates JavaScript code and is fully automated having more than 50 phishing templates and site projects. 

“Naked Pages is the phishing tool any serious developer//spammer needs with more features than any other reverse proxy combined or PHP phishing framework combined,” reads an advertisement on a cybercrime forum.

Additionally, the advertisement mentions that there is a possibility of providing software licenses if the buyer pays $1000 upfront and contributes by sharing new thoughts for the open-source project on GitHub. The buyers can contact the hacker via a Google Forms page. 

According to CloudSEK researchers, the toolkit is manufactured to work on Linux and requests for read, write and execute permissions from the ‘user’ and also asks for learning and execute permissions from both ‘group’ and ‘others’ in order to function smoothly. 

Moreover, the toolkit is laced with fully-integrated and battle-based anti-bot features, capable of sporting security bugs of different types from over 120 nations.

“[NakedPages] would equip malicious actors with the details required to launch sophisticated ransomware attacks,” researchers explained.

CloudSEK has not identified the author behind the new phishing toolkit but believes there is a new player on GitHub and the cybercrime platform, with both accounts being less than a month old. “There have been no concrete samples shared by the threat actor. Repeated attempts for establishing contact were made by our source, but the threat actor hasn’t responded,” CloudSEK stated. 

The researchers also issued an advisory to the users who may be impacted by NakedPages to monitor for anomalies in accounts and systems that could be indicators of possible account breaches and execute multi-factor authentication (MFA) practices across all accounts. 

Last month, the Resecurity Hunter unit detected a new phishing campaign, dubbed Frappo, disseminated aggressively on the dark web and via Telegram channels. The phishing campaign allowed scammers to host and design high-quality phishing websites that mimicked popular online banking, e-commerce, and retail services in order to exfiltrate private data from their target customers. 

The phishing pages impersonated 20 financial institutions (FIs), online retailers, and popular services – including Amazon, Uber, Netflix, Bank of Montreal (BMO), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), CIBC, TD Bank, Desjardins, Wells Fargo, Citizens, Citi and Bank of America.

Experts Find Malware Controlling Thousands of Websites in Parrot TDS Network

The Parrot traffic direction system (TDS) that surfaced recently had a huge impact than what was thought earlier, research suggests. The malware affected more than 61,000 websites and was one of the top infections. Parrot TDS was first identified in April 2022 by cybersecurity company Avast, the PHP script had affected web servers that hosted more than 16,500 websites, acting as a gateway for future malware campaigns. It includes appending a part of infected code to all JavaScript files on affected web servers that host content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, these are attacked because of their weak login credentials and flawed plugins. 

"In 2021 alone, Sucuri said it removed Parrot TDS from nearly 20 million JavaScript files found on infected sites. In the first five months of 2022, over 2,900 PHP and 1.64 million JavaScript files have been observed containing the malware," reports The Hacker News. Alongside the use of sneaky techniques to hide the code, the "injected JavaScript may also be found well indented so that it looks less suspicious to a casual observer," said Denis Sinegubko, expert at Sucuri says. 

The aim of the JavaScript code is to jump-start the second phase of the attack, to deploy a PHP script that has been already injected on the server and is built to obtain information about website visitor, (for ex- IPs, browser, referrer, etc.) and send the details to a remote server. The third phase of the attack surfaces as a Javascript code, it works as a traffic direction system to find out the specific payload to send for a particular user based on the data which was shared in the second stage. 

When the TDS has confirmed the eligibility of a particular site visitor, the NDSX script deploys the final payload through a third-party website. The mostly used third-stage malware is a JavaScript downloader called FakeUpdates. 

"The NDSW malware campaign is extremely successful because it uses a versatile exploitation toolkit that constantly adds new disclosed and 0-day vulnerabilities. Once the bad actor has gained unauthorized access to the environment, they add various backdoors and CMS admin users to maintain access to the compromised website long after the original vulnerability is closed," said Sinegubko.

German Firms Targeted by Malicious NPM Packages

 

JFrog researchers have uncovered multiple malicious packages in the NPM registry particularly targeting several popular media, logistics, and industrial companies based in Germany to carry out supply chain assaults. 

"Compared with most malware found in the NPM repository, this payload seems particularly dangerous: a highly-sophisticated, obfuscated piece of malware that acts as a backdoor and allows the attacker to take total control over the infected machine," researchers said in a new report. 

According to the DevOps company, the evidence discovered suggests it is either the work of a sophisticated hacker or a "very aggressive" penetration test. Four maintainers— bertelsmannnpm, boschnodemodules, stihlnodemodules, and dbschenkernpm— have been associated with all the rogue packages; most of the packages have been taken down from the repository.

The finding points out that the hackers are trying to copy legitimate firms like Bertelsmann, Bosch, Stihl, and DB Schenker. Some of the package names are distinct, which makes it likely that the adversary managed to trace the libraries hosted in the companies’ internal repositories to launch a dependency confusion attack. 

The findings are based on a report from Snyk late last month that detailed one of the malicious packages, "gxm-reference-web-auth-server," noting that the malware is targeting an unknown firm that has the same package in their private registry.

"The attacker(s) likely had information about the existence of such a package in the company's private registry," the Snyk security research team said. According to researchers at Reversing Labs, who independently examined the hacks, the rogue modules uploaded to NPM featured elevated version numbers than their private counterparts to force the modules onto target environments.

"The targeted private packages for the transportation and logistics firm had versions 0.5.69 and 4.0.48, while the malicious, public versions were identically named, but used versions 0.5.70 and 4.0.49," the cybersecurity firm explained. 

Calling the implant an "in-house development," JFrog pointed out that the malware contains two components, a dropper that sends information about the infected machine to a remote telemetry server before decrypting and executing a JavaScript backdoor. The backdoor, while lacking a persistence mechanism, is designed to receive and execute commands sent from a hard-coded command-and-control server, evaluate arbitrary JavaScript code, and upload files back to the server. 

Earlier this week, a German penetration testing company named Code White has owned up to uploading the malicious packages in question, adding it was an attempt to "mimic realistic threat actors for dedicated clients."

Microweber Creators Patched XSS Flaw in CMS Software

 

Microweber, an open-source website builder and content management system, has a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability, according to security researchers. 

The security flaw, identified as CVE-2022-0930 by researchers James Yeung and Bozhidar Slaveykov, was patched in Microweber version 1.2.12. The issue developed as a result of flaws in older versions of Microweber's content filtering protections. 

Because of these flaws, attackers could upload an XSS payload as long as it contained a file ending in 'html' — a category that encompasses far more than simply plain.html files. Once this payload is uploaded, a URL with malicious HTML can be viewed and malicious JavaScript performed. 

An attacker could steal cookies before impersonating a victim, potentially the administrator of a compromised system, by controlling a script that runs in the victim's browser. A technical blog article by Yeung and Slaveykov, which includes a proof-of-concept exploit, gives additional detail about the assault. Microweber was asked to comment on the researchers' findings via a message sent through a webform on The Daily Swig's website. Microweber responded by confirming that the "issue is already fixed." 

When asked how they found Microweber as a target, Yeung told The Daily Swig, “I came across huntr.dev and found other researchers had found vulnerabilities on Microweber and that's why I joined that mania!” 

The vulnerabilities discovered in Microweber are similar to those found in other comparable enterprise software packages. The researcher explained, “I have found similar vulnerabilities in multiple CMS like Microweber, and I found that most of them are lacking user input sanitization from HTTP requests (some of which are not intended to be submitted from client).” 

To avoid issues in this area, Yeung determined that developers should gradually shift toward allow-lists and away from utilising block-lists.