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Four REVSTEALER-Linked Modules Disable Windows Update and Defender to Run a Crypto Miner

Elastic documents four persistent REVSTEALER-linked tools (ProManager, WinUpdate, SoftManager, LockAppHost); LockAppHost disables Windows Update and Defender to run a crypto miner.

Elastic Security Labs identified four previously unreported executables tied to REVSTEALER, a commercial Windows infostealer sold since at least February 2026: ProManager, WinUpdate, SoftManager, and LockAppHost. LockAppHost abuses CMSTP for elevation, adds Microsoft Defender exclusions, disables five Windows Update services and 13 scheduled tasks, then hides a miner in legitimate Windows processes; other modules steal wallets, clipboard-swap crypto addresses, and turn victims into reverse proxies. The components share REVSTEALER tradecraft including packer, runtime function resolution, and Polygon smart-contract backup configuration (EtherHiding). Elastic's detection rule matched about 4,700 VirusTotal samples over the past year; distribution uses hijacked YouTube channels promoting game cheats and a fake 'Claude Opus 5 Free Desktop' app.

The Hacker News · 10d agoMalware in the wild

HVNC Backdoor Targets LATAM Organizations with Fake Tax and DocuSign Lures

A custom HVNC backdoor is targeting Latin American financial organizations via fake DocuSign and NFe tax-document lures, giving attackers hidden persistent remote access.

ANY.RUN researchers analyzed a multi-stage phishing campaign delivering a custom HVNC backdoor to banking and financial organizations in Latin America. The chain starts with fake DocuSign and NFe tax-document pages that serve per-visitor ZIP archives, followed by an LNK dropper, an NSIS loader, and a 64-bit backdoor masquerading as Windows Update Assistant. The implant provides hidden remote desktop control, keystroke monitoring, Firefox data theft, Startup-folder persistence, and EDR-aware behavior, communicating over TCP/27015.

ANY.RUN · 8d agoMalware in the wild

UBoatRAT Navigates East Asia

Unit 42 discovers UBoatRAT, a new custom RAT targeting South Korean and video-game industry personnel, delivered via Google Drive with GitHub-based C2 and BITS persistence.

Unit 42 identified UBoatRAT, a new custom remote access trojan first found in May 2017, whose initial version used a public Hong Kong blog service and a compromised Japanese web server for command and control. The latest variants target personnel or organizations related to South Korea or the video games industry, are delivered through Google Drive, and masquerade as Microsoft Word, Excel, or folder icons. The RAT checks for virtualization software and domain join, retrieves its C2 address from a Base64-encoded string in a GitHub-hosted file, uses a custom XOR-encrypted C2 protocol, and maintains persistence via Windows Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) jobs that survive reboots.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 29d agoMalware in the wild1