New Sneaky Xamalicious Android Malware Hits Over 327,000 Devices
A new Android backdoor has been discovered with potent capabilities to carry out a range of malicious actions on infected devices.
Dubbed Xamalicious by the McAfee Mobile Research Team, the malware is so named for the fact that it’s developed using an open-source mobile app framework called Xamarin and abuses the operating system’s accessibility permissions to fulfill its objectives.
It’s also capable of gathering metadata about the compromised device and contacting a command-and-control (C2) server to fetch a second-stage payload, but only after determining if it fits the bill.
The second stage is “dynamically injected as an assembly DLL at runtime level to take full control of the device and potentially perform fraudulent actions such as clicking on ads, installing apps, among other actions financially motivated without user consent,” security researcher Fernando Ruiz said.
The cybersecurity firm said it identified 25 apps that come with this active threat, some of which were distributed on the official Google Play Store since mid-2020. The apps are estimated to have been installed at least 327,000 times.
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A majority of the infections have been reported in Brazil, Argentina, the U.K., Australia, the U.S., Mexico, and other parts of Europe and the Americas. Some of the apps are listed below –
- Essential Horoscope for Android (com.anomenforyou.essentialhoroscope)
- 3D Skin Editor for PE Minecraft (com.littleray.skineditorforpeminecraft)
- Logo Maker Pro (com.vyblystudio.dotslinkpuzzles)
- Auto Click Repeater (com.autoclickrepeater.free)
- Count Easy Calorie Calculator (com.lakhinstudio.counteasycaloriecalculator)
- Sound Volume Extender (com.muranogames.easyworkoutsathome)
- LetterLink (com.regaliusgames.llinkgame)
- NUMEROLOGY: PERSONAL HOROSCOPE &NUMBER PREDICTIONS (com.Ushak.NPHOROSCOPENUMBER)
- Step Keeper: Easy Pedometer (com.browgames.stepkeepereasymeter)
- Track Your Sleep (com.shvetsStudio.trackYourSleep)
- Sound Volume…
