Security News > 2024 > April > Hackers hijack antivirus updates to drop GuptiMiner malware

Hackers hijack antivirus updates to drop GuptiMiner malware
2024-04-23 14:56

North Korean hackers have been exploiting the updating mechanism of the eScan antivirus to plant backdoors on big corporate networks and deliver cryptocurrency miners through GuptiMiner malware.

Researchers describe GuptiMiner as "a highly sophisticated threat" that can perform DNS requests to the attacker's DNS servers, extract payloads from images, sign its payloads, and perform DLL sideloading.

In a report released today, cybersecurity company Avast says that the threat actor behind GuptiMiner had an adversary-in-the-middle position to hijack the normal virus definition update package and replace it with a malicious one named 'updll62.

The malicious file includes the necessary antivirus updates as well as a GuptiMiner malware as a DLL file named 'version.

The hackers used GuptiMiner to deploy multiple malware on compromised systems, including two distinct backdoors and the XMRig Monero miner.

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News URL

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-hijack-antivirus-updates-to-drop-guptiminer-malware/