Sophisticated attackers used DazzleSpy macOS backdoor in watering hole attacks
Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →
| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Flags | Affected | Exposure | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2019-8526 | Use-After-Free Local Privilege Escalation in Apple macOS CVE-2019-8526 is a use-after-free (CWE-416) memory-corruption flaw in Apple macOS that can be triggered by a low-privileged application already running on the target Mac, with no user interaction required. Successful exploitation lets an attacker gain elevated privileges beyond those of the triggering application, making it a local privilege escalation vector that is typically chained with other flaws. The issue is fixed in macOS Mojave 10.14.4, so users and organizations running earlier macOS builds are affected. CISA added the vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-04-17, confirming exploitation in the wild, though ransomware use is unknown and no public proof-of-concept is known. Related reporting on macOS watering-hole attacks delivering the DazzleSpy backdoor underscores active macOS targeting, but the provided data does not confirm a direct link to this specific CVE. Do: Upgrade affected Macs to macOS Mojave 10.14.4 or a later macOS release per Apple's instructions (CISA's required action), and inventory for any machines stuck on older builds using About This Mac or 'sw_vers -productVersion'. Because the flaw requires local execution, prioritize multi-user, shared, or high-risk Macs. Given confirmed in-the-wild exploitation, hunt for signs of post-exploitation on previously unpatched systems, keeping in mind macOS backdoor campaigns (e.g., DazzleSpy) reported against Mac users. | 7.8 | <1% | KEV |
| massmacOS install base exceeds 100M active devices; likely millions of Macs were, or remain, on vulnerable pre-10.14.4 builds | |
| CVE-2021-30869 | Type Confusion in Apple iOS, iPadOS and macOS Allows Kernel Code Execution CVE-2021-30869 is a type confusion flaw (CWE-843) in the kernel of Apple's iOS, iPadOS, and macOS operating systems, addressed with improved state handling. It is triggered locally when a user runs a malicious application, which can then leverage the memory-type confusion to escape the app sandbox context. Successful exploitation gives the attacker arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges, effectively full control of the device. Users of iPhone, iPad, and Mac running versions released before the January 2021 fixes are affected. Apple has confirmed exploits exist in the wild, the flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03, and news reporting linked exploitation to targeted attacks against macOS users in Hong Kong. Do: Upgrade to iOS 14.4 (or iOS 12.5.5 for older devices), iPadOS 14.4, or macOS Big Sur 11.2, and apply Security Update 2021-001 Catalina or Security Update 2021-001 Mojave (Security Update 2021-006 Catalina also addresses the issue) on Macs. Because exploitation requires running a malicious application, remove untrusted apps and warn users against installing software from unverified sources while patching. This flaw is on the CISA KEV list, so federal and KEV-committed organizations must apply the updates per vendor instructions; no public proof-of-concept is known. | 7.8 | 4% | KEV |
| masshundreds of millions of devices (Apple's active installed base of iPhones, iPads, and Macs is on the order of 1 billion devices, and pre-patch OS versions were… |
Indicators of compromiseauto-extracted · verify before use · export allAll →
| Type | Indicator | Context |
|---|---|---|
| domain | fightforhk.com | activists. One of the websites used to infect HK dissidents fightforhk[.]com seems to have been created from scratch for that unique p |
Full article601 words · extracted from securityaffairs.com · click to collapse
Experts found an undocumented macOS backdoor, dubbed DazzleSpy, that was employed in watering hole attacks aimed at politically active individuals in Hong Kong.
Researchers from ESET have spotted an undocumented macOS backdoor, dubbed DazzleSpy, that was employed in watering hole attacks aimed at politically active individuals in Hong Kong.
The investigation started in November after Google TAG published a blogpost about watering-hole attacks targeting macOS users in Hong Kong.
Google TAG researchers discovered that threat actors leveraged a zero-day vulnerability in macOS in a watering hole campaign aimed at delivering malware to users in Hong Kong. The attackers exploited a XNU privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2021-30869) unpatched in macOS Catalina
The watering hole campaign targeted websites of a media outlet and important pro-democracy labor and political group. The researchers discovered that attackers deployed on the sites hosted two iframes that were used to serve iOS and macOS exploits to the visitors.
The experts believe that the attack was orchestrated by a nation-state actor, but did not attribute the campaign to a specific APT group.
ESET also attributed the attacks to an actor with strong technical capabilities. According to Felix Aimé from SEKOIA.IO, one of the sites used by threat actors in the attacks was a fake website targeting Hong Kong activists.
One of the websites used to infect HK dissidents fightforhk[.]com seems to have been created from scratch for that unique purpose. Do not hesitate to check your logs/mails/SMS/private messages etc. against this domain. [1/2] pic.twitter.com/TfTSN5pqbf
— Félix Aimé (@felixaime) November 13, 2021
Researchers also found the legitimate website of Hong Kong, pro-democracy radio station D100 that was compromised to distribute the same exploit before the Google TAG report.
“The exploit used to gain code execution in the browser is quite complex and had more than 1,000 lines of code once formatted nicely. It’s interesting to note that some code, which suggests the vulnerability could also have been exploited on iOS and even on PAC-enabled (Pointer Authentication Code) devices such as the iPhone XS and newer, has been commented out” reads the analysis published by ESET.
Once exploited the WebKit RCE, threat actors executed the second-state Mach-O binary that exploits the local kernel privilege escalation issue CVE-2021-30869 to run the next stage malware as a root user.
After gaining root, the downloaded payload is loaded and executed in the background on the victim’s machine via launchtl. In the attacks reached by Google, the final payload was tracked as MACMA, while in attacks documented by ESET threat actors employed the DazzleSpy backdoor.
DazzleSpy supports a broad range of features that provide attackers a large set of functionalities to control, and exfiltrate files from, a compromised computer.
Below is a list of supported features:
- Harvesting system information
- Executing arbitrary shell commands
- Dumping iCloud Keychain using a CVE-2019-8526 exploit if the macOS version is lower than 10.14.4
- Starting or terminating a remote screen session
- Deleting itself from the machine
“The watering-hole operations this group has pursued show that its targets are likely to be politically active, pro-democracy individuals in Hong Kong. This campaign has similarities with one from 2020 where LightSpy iOS malware (described by TrendMicro and Kaspersky) was distributed the same way, using iframe injection on websites for Hong Kong citizens leading to a WebKit exploit. We cannot confirm at this point whether both campaigns are from the same group, but ESET Research will continue to track and report on similar malicious activities.” concludes the report.
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