Russian Hackers Tricked Ukrainians with Fake "DoS Android Apps to Target Russia"
Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →
| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Flags | Affected | Exposure | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2022-30190 | MSDT URL Protocol Remote Code Execution in Microsoft Windows (Follina) CVE-2022-30190 (Follina) is a remote code execution flaw in the Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) when MSDT is invoked through its ms-msdt URL protocol by a calling application such as Microsoft Word. Attackers trigger it by luring a user into opening a malicious document — typically a Word/RTF file whose link or remotely linked template launches the ms-msdt: URI with attacker-supplied commands — and CVSS 3.1 rates it 7.8 with a local attack vector and required user interaction. A successful exploit runs arbitrary code with the privileges of the calling application, allowing the attacker to install programs, view, change or delete data, or create new accounts in the user's context. Per the CISA data, affected platforms are Windows 7, 8.1 and RT 8.1, Windows 10 versions 1507 through 21H2, Windows 11 21H2, and Windows Server 2008 and 2012 — essentially any Windows installation that ships MSDT, with Office/Word as the common delivery vector. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: Microsoft acknowledged it as an exploited zero-day, CISA added it to the KEV on 2022-06-14 with known ransomware use, EPSS puts the 30-day exploitation probability at 99.2% (99th percentile), and contemporaneous reporting also tied its use to espionage actors including APT28. Do: Apply Microsoft's security updates per vendor instructions (the fix shipped in the June 2022 Patch Tuesday releases for the affected Windows versions), as required by CISA's KEV. If patching must be delayed, follow Microsoft's documented mitigation to disable the MSDT URL protocol (remove or restrict the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ms-msdt registry key) and enforce Office Protected View / block Word from fetching remote templates over the network. Hunt for exploitation by checking whether Office processes (WINWORD.exe) launch msdt.exe or sdiagnhost.exe, or whether ms-msdt: URIs are invoked unexpectedly. | 7.8 | 99% | KEV ransomware PoC |
| mass≈1 billion+ Windows devices (effectively the entire supported Windows installed base) |
Indicators of compromiseauto-extracted · verify before use · export allAll →
| Type | Indicator | Context |
|---|---|---|
| domain | stopwar.pro | om another Android app distributed through a website named "stopwar[.]pro" that's also designed to conduct DoS attacks by continual |
Full article477 words · extracted from thehackernews.com · click to collapse
Ravie LakshmananJul 20, 2022
Russian threat actors capitalized on the ongoing conflict against Ukraine to distribute Android malware camouflaged as an app for pro-Ukrainian hacktivists to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against Russian sites.
Google Threat Analysis Group (TAG) attributed the malware to Turla, an advanced persistent threat also known as Krypton, Venomous Bear, Waterbug, and Uroburos, and linked to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
"This is the first known instance of Turla distributing Android-related malware," TAG researcher Billy Leonard said. "The apps were not distributed through the Google Play Store, but hosted on a domain controlled by the actor and disseminated via links on third party messaging services."
It's worth noting that the onslaught of cyberattacks in the immediate aftermath of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine prompted the latter to form an IT Army to stage counter-DDoS attacks against Russian websites. The goal of the Turla operation, it appears, is to use this volunteer-run effort to their own advantage.
The decoy app was hosted on a domain masquerading as the Azov Regiment, a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, calling on people from around the world to fight "Russia's aggression" by initiating a denial-of-service attack on the web servers belonging to "Russian websites to overwhelm their resources."
Google TAG said the actors drew inspiration from another Android app distributed through a website named "stopwar[.]pro" that's also designed to conduct DoS attacks by continually sending requests to the target websites.
That said, the actual number of times the malicious Cyber Azov app was installed is minuscule, posing no major impact on Android users.
Additionally, the Sandworm group (aka Voodoo Bear) has been connected to a separate set of malicious activities leveraging the Follina vulnerability (CVE-2022-30190) in the Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) to send links pointing to Microsoft Office documents hosted on compromised websites targeting media entities in Ukraine.
UAC-0098, a threat actor that CERT-UA last month warned of distributing tax-themed documents carrying a Follina exploit, has also been assessed to be a former initial access broker with ties to the Conti group and in charge of disseminating the IcedID banking trojan.
Other kinds of cyber activity include credential phishing attacks mounted by an adversary referred to as COLDRIVER (aka Callisto) aimed at government and defense officials, politicians, NGOs and think tanks, and journalists.
These involve sending emails either directly, including the phishing domain or containing links to documents hosted on Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive that, in turn, feature links to an attacker-controlled website designed to steal passwords.
The latest developments are yet another indication of how Russian threat actors are exhibiting continued signs of increasing sophistication in their attempts to target in ways that highlight their evolving techniques.
Found this article interesting? Follow us on Google News, Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.
Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://thehackernews.com/2022/07/russian-hackers-tricked-ukrainians-with.html