Jamf Threat Labs Discovers Pirated macOS Apps Similar to ZuRu Malware
Jamf Threat Labs discovers new pirated macOS applications that establish communication with attacker infrastructure, allowing the victim's computer to be controlled by the attacker.
Analyzing a pirated application, that contains a (malicious) surprise A few days ago, malwrhunterteam tweeted about pirated macOS application that appeared to contain malware And even though as noted in the tweet the sample appeared to be from 2023, it was new to me so I decided to take some time to dig in deeper. Plus, I’m always interested in seeing if Objective-See’s free open-source tools can provide protection against recent macOS threats. In this blog post we’ll start with the disk image, then hone in on a malicious dynamic library, which turns out just to be the start!
MacOS info-stealers quickly evolve to evade XProtect detection
Multiple information stealers for the macOS platform have demonstrated the capability to evade detection even when security companies follow and report about new variants frequently.
In both his twitter (err, X) thread and in a subsequent posting he provided a comprehensive background and triage of the malware dubbed SpectralBlur. In terms of its capabilities he noted: SpectralBlur is a moderately capable backdoor, that can upload/download files, run a shell, update its configuration, delete files, hibernate or sleep, based on commands issued from the C2. -Greg He also pointed out similarities to/overlaps with the DPRK malware known as KandyKorn (that we covered in our “Mac Malware of 2024” report), while also pointing out there was differences, leading him to conclude: We can see some similarities ... to the KandyKorn. But these feel like families developed by different folks with the same sort of requirements. -Greg
This write-up presents an exploit for a vulnerability in the XNU kernel: Assigned CVE-2023-32434. Fixed in iOS 16.5.1 and macOS 13.4.1. Reachable from the WebContent sandbox and might have been actively exploited. *Note that this CVE fixed multiple integer overflows, so it is unclear whether or not the integer overflow used in my exploit was also used in-the-wild. Moreover, if it was, it might not have been exploited in the same way. The exploit has been successfully tested on: iOS 16.3, 16.3.1, 16.4 and 16.5 (iPhone 14 Pro Max) macOS 13.1 and 13.4 (MacBook Air M2 2022) All code snippets shown below are from xnu-8792.81.2.
We discovered that Gimmick MacOS malware communicates only through their C2 server hosted on Google Drive. The malware was discovered in the first week of May and it has been actively targeting macOS devices
Malicious PyPI package opens backdoors on Windows, Linux, and Macs
Yet another malicious Python package has been spotted in the PyPI registry performing supply chain attacks to drop Cobalt Strike beacons and backdoors on Windows, Linux, and macOS systems.
Exploiting an Unbounded memcpy in Parallels Desktop
This post details the development of a guest-to-host virtualization escape for Parallels Desktop on macOS, as used in our successful Pwn2Own 2021 entry. Give...
macOS Vulnerabilities Hiding in Plain Sight (Black Hat Asia 2022 presentation)
Sometimes when we publish details and writeups about vulnerabilities we are so focused on the actual bug, that we don't notice others, which might be still hidden inside the details. The same can happen when we read these issues, but if we keep our eyes open we might find hidden gems. Download SlidesDownload Whitepaper
Known macOS Vulnerabilities Led Researcher to Root Out New Flaws
Researcher shares how he unearthed newer bugs in Apple's operating system by closer scrutiny of previous research, including vulnerabilities that came out of the Pwn2Own competition.
OverWatch Insights: Reviewing a New Intrusion Targeting Mac Systems
While Mac enterprise networks are not as common as Windows, and subject to less targeting by adversaries, recent CrowdStrike Falcon Overwatch observations shed light on sophisticated tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) targeting Mac environments.
Increased Enterprise Use of iOS, Mac Means More Malware
As use of Apple devices has grown in the enterprise, the company has increasingly become a target for malware threats and other attacks. ISMG spoke with experts and
Analyzing a watering hole campaign using macOS exploits
To protect our users, TAG routinely hunts for 0-day vulnerabilities exploited in-the-wild. In late August 2021, TAG discovered watering hole attacks targeting visitors to Hong Kong websites for a media outlet and a prominent pro-democracy labor and political group. The watering hole served an XNU privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2021-30869) unpatched in macOS Catalina, which led to the installation of a previously unreported backdoor.
I'm running MacOS Monterey. Several times in the last few weeks, I've noticed the orange dot indicating the microphone is being used by an app, and I click on the Control Center and see that Zoom is accessing the microphone. I'm not in a meeting and simply have the Zoom app open. Why would Zoom be accessing the microphone when I'm not in a meeting?
A new macOS Trojan-Proxy is riding on cracked versions of legitimate software; it relies on DNS-over-HTTPS to obtain a C&C (command and control) address. Illegally distributed software historically has served as a way to sneak malware onto victims’ devices. Oftentimes, users are not willing to pay for software tools they need, so they go searching the Web for a “free lunch”. They are an excellent target for cybercriminals who realize that an individual looking for a cracked app will be willing to download an installer from a questionable website and disable security on their machine, and so they will be fairly easy to trick into installing malware as well.
N. Korean Hackers 'Mixing' macOS Malware Tactics to Evade Detection
The North Korean threat actors behind macOS malware strains such as RustBucket and KANDYKORN have been observed "mixing and matching" different elements of the two disparate attack chains, leveraging RustBucket droppers to deliver KANDYKORN.
Two apparently separate North Korean crypto theft campaigns targeting macOS users appear to be linked as threat actors mix and match droppers and payloads.
We discovered that Gimmick MacOS malware communicates only through their C2 server hosted on Google Drive. The malware was discovered in the first week of May and it has been actively targeting macOS devices
Malicious PyPI package opens backdoors on Windows, Linux, and Macs
Yet another malicious Python package has been spotted in the PyPI registry performing supply chain attacks to drop Cobalt Strike beacons and backdoors on Windows, Linux, and macOS systems.
Exploiting an Unbounded memcpy in Parallels Desktop
This post details the development of a guest-to-host virtualization escape for Parallels Desktop on macOS, as used in our successful Pwn2Own 2021 entry. Give...
macOS Vulnerabilities Hiding in Plain Sight (Black Hat Asia 2022 presentation)
Sometimes when we publish details and writeups about vulnerabilities we are so focused on the actual bug, that we don't notice others, which might be still hidden inside the details. The same can happen when we read these issues, but if we keep our eyes open we might find hidden gems. Download SlidesDownload Whitepaper
Known macOS Vulnerabilities Led Researcher to Root Out New Flaws
Researcher shares how he unearthed newer bugs in Apple's operating system by closer scrutiny of previous research, including vulnerabilities that came out of the Pwn2Own competition.
