Macs under attack from trojan double whammy

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 30, 2008

Two new threats in a week spark worries of approaching Mac malware era.

Users of Apple Mac systems, who have so far only suffered from minimal attention from malware creators, may need to take more care in future according to some security analysts, after the exposure of a significant vulnerability in the operating system and the release of two effective trojans within a week have left some pondering the possible advent of major malware problems for the Mac world.

The most significant threat comes from a trojan toolkit posted online, with its Applescript source designed to be hidden in any genuine application. Once running it attempts to exploit several known vulnerabilities, including a recently disclosed privilege escalation flaw, to install keyloggers and remote access tools. While the developers of the trojan have apparently claimed to have intended it merely as a proof-of-concept, Mac security specialist SecureMac reports sightings of several variants in the wild, and with the source being available and designed to be modular for easy adaptation, it seems likely that more will follow.

A second and less potent risk was also spotted targeting Mac users last week, which relied on social engineering rather than system vulnerabilities to obtain admin credentials on target systems. Having persuaded victims to provide passwords the malicious program then passes them on to a central point along with other system data.

An initial post on the Applescript trojan toolkit is at SecureMac here, with more analysis and investigation on the SecurityFix blog here and in the Register here.

Posted on 30 June 2008 by Virus Bulletin

twitter.png
fb.png
linkedin.png
hackernews.png
reddit.png

 

Latest posts:

VBSpam tests to be executed under the AMTSO framework

VB is excited to announce that, starting from the Q3 test, all VBSpam tests of email security products will be executed under the AMTSO framework.

In memoriam: Prof. Ross Anderson

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of Professor Ross Anderson a few days ago.

In memoriam: Dr Alan Solomon

We were very sorry to learn of the passing of industry pioneer Dr Alan Solomon earlier this week.

New paper: Nexus Android banking botnet – compromising C&C panels and dissecting mobile AppInjects

In a new paper, researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Bansal provide details of a security vulnerability in the Nexus Android botnet C&C panel that was exploited in order to gather threat intelligence, and present a model of mobile AppInjects.

New paper: Collector-stealer: a Russian origin credential and information extractor

In a new paper, F5 researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Chaturvedi present a 360 analysis of Collector-stealer, a Russian-origin credential and information extractor.

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.