While monitoring Android threats in June 2026, we discovered a new piece of Android malware. What struck us as unusual was that it installed like an ordinary user app yet made no attempt to disguise itself as legitimate software: it had no user interface at all. This led us to suspect the app might be reaching users’ devices without their knowledge. Further investigation confirmed that hypothesis and allowed us to reconstruct the entire infection chain. Key findings: We identified new Android malware: a multi-stage downloader whose ultimate purpose is ad fraud and creation of a proxy botnet. The malware spread through the built-in updaters of Android-based automotive head unit firmware. This is the first documented case of malware found on a car head unit with an infection chain specific to that type of device. We attribute this activity, with high confidence, to the MoYu Group, an actor linked to the BADBOX botnet. Kaspersky solutions detect the threats described below under the following detection names: HEUR:Trojan-Dropper.AndroidOS.Agent.vu HEUR:Trojan-Downloader.AndroidOS.Agent.ov HEUR:Trojan-Proxy.AndroidOS.Zhima.* HEUR:Trojan.AndroidOS.Vo1d.* Head unit firmware overview A head unit is a system that combines multimedia functions with partial control over certain vehicle functions. Head units may come as part of a car’s factory equipment or as an aftermarket upgrade. The main attack vectors for these systems are compromise via physical access and vulnerabilities in the head unit’s OS or components, both of which we’ve covered previously. In some cases, head units run on Android, primarily because it’s convenient for manufacturers: Android’s source code already accounts for use cases within automotive head units. Android also allows manufacturers to add their own system applications during the build process, which they can use for a range of purposes: customizing the UI, adding system components tailored to the vendor’s needs, and more. Most apps developed for Android devices can also run on an Android-based head unit, and that is true for malware as well. That said, it’s hard to imagine certain categories of smartphone-targeted malware being used to attack a head unit. Banking Trojans are a good example: since mobile banking is used almost exclusively on smartphones, infecting a head unit with a banking Trojan would be a waste of the attacker’s resources. It’s worth noting that head units often include SIM card slots and can connect to the internet, enabling features like navigation and software updates. Since a head unit typically holds nothing of value to an attacker, one of the more likely attack scenarios using “classic” Android malware is infecting the device to recruit it into a botnet – similar to attacks on IoT devices. During our research, we found exactly that kind of malware. The design of firmware for DoFun head units enabled attackers to distribute malware. We notified the vendor about the distribution scheme, and they subsequently reported fixing the security issues. Below is the entire infection chain: Head unit infection scheme Let’s look at exactly how these head units became infected. The TWCore app TWCore is a legitimate system application responsible for collecting analytics data and updating the head unit software. Let’s take a closer look at how the update function works. The process is fairly simple. An MQTT message broker hosted on the subdomain cardoor[.]cn sends a message containing information about the APK files that need to be downloaded and installed on the head unit. Notably, the object describing this message includes an installNotExists field, a Boolean flag that can be set to true or false. This flag allows TWCore to install apps that weren’t originally present on the device. TWCore only checks whether an app is already installed on the device when installNotExists = false The APK file is downloaded to <TWCore external cache dir>/push/apk/ for installation. The path TWCore uses to download APK files Our telemetry revealed previously unknown malware at these file paths. On top of that, our data indicates that in every observed case, the malware was installed by an app with the package name com.tw.core, which matches the TWCore package name. Next, we’ll break down the malware installed by TWCore: the JarService dropper. Stage 1: the JarService dropper As mentioned earlier, JarService is a small dropper app with no UI of any kind. It decrypts data stored as encrypted blocks within the Trojan’s code. Each block is XOR-encrypted with a single-byte key that shifts linearly from block to block. The decrypted data contains serialized information about the payload version and entry point, along with the malware’s own code for further loading. Decrypting and deserializing information about the stage 2 payload In the version of JarService we analyzed, the entry point for the next-stage payload was the wa method of the com.c.j.qbh class. Stage 2: the loader This stage’s payload is a malicious loader. Its code contains encrypted strings that are later used as class names to execute the stage 3 payload using the reflection mechanism. The loader sends implant information to one of the attackers’ servers via a POST request. Example of a request to the C2 server: { "userId": "REDACTED", "dexVersion": "1.7", "dexType": 1, "channelId": "2039", "packageName": "com.tw.jar1", "appVersion": 12, "appName": "JarService" }In response to the POST request, the C2 server returns a link for downloading the stage 3 payload. An example of a C2 response is shown below. { "code": 200, "data": { "dexUrl": "hxxp://144.217.243[.]201/vr34der34/dex3.68.png", "dexVersion": 3.680, "status": 0 } }The Trojan uses the link in the dexUrl field of the data object to download serialized data for loading the next stage. This data begins with a single-byte integer, a key used to decrypt the strings in the loader’s code. Immediately following this number is a four-byte floating-point value used to XOR-decrypt the stage 3 payload, which itself is located after these keys. Decrypting the stage 3 payload In the decrypted payload, the entry point is the init method of the com.ast.sdk.BillingMain class, shown in the screenshot below. Entry point of the stage 3 payload While analyzing this stage, we noticed that the download link for the next-stage payload includes a version number. We decided to try other version numbers to retrieve different payload versions, and ultimately obtained seven distinct variants, which we list under “Indicators of Compromise” at the end of this report. The earliest version, numbered 3.57, uses a different decoding algorithm than the one described above. This may indicate that an earlier version of the infection chain used a different loader between JarService and the stage 3 payload. Stage 3: clicker / reverse proxy loader In this stage, the malware sends a POST request to /cpc/api/task every 90 minutes by default, containing information about the infected device (display resolution, device model, the SSID of the connected Wi-Fi network, MAC address, and so on) along with the Trojan’s configuration version. If the configuration is outdated, the C2 server returns an updated configuration containing new C2 addresses and new paths for sending HTTP requests. An example of a response is shown below. Note that at the time of our research, the most up-to-date configuration version was 3.82. { "code": 100, "data": { "configVersion": 3.820, "hosts": ["hxxp://t2.kshahnd[.]sbs", "hxxp://t2.mdsjhd[.]sbs", "hxxp://t2.nmnsny[.]sbs", "hxxps://t2.nmnsny[.]sbs"], "interval": 5500000, "reportApi": "/cpc/api/report", "tagName": "config", "taskApi": "/cpc/api/task", "updates": ["hxxp://a2.kshahnd[.]sbs", "hxxp://a2.mdsjhd[.]sbs", "hxxp://a2.nmnsny[.]sbs", "hxxps://a2.nmnsny[.]sbs"], "vn": 1.010 } }If the configuration version doesn’t need updating, the C2 server instead returns integer command identifiers, which the attackers refer to as productId. The Trojan maps each identifier to command information, which it stores as a serialized JSON object using the SharedPreferences API. Each identifier also has its own version, expressed as a UNIX timestamp. If the C2 response includes an unknown productId or one whose version is outdated, the malware sends a GET request to the attackers’ server at /cpc/api/xml to retrieve the command contents for all such identifiers. The C2 server responds with command information for each unknown identifier. An example of a response is shown below. { "code": 200, "data": [{ "productId": 979, "script": "{\n \"loadType\": 1,\n \"reload\": true,\n \"method\": \"start\",\n \"url2\": \"hxxp://144.217.243[.]201/vr34der34/sh65.io\",\n \"md52\": \"de77c3303e93c9450424759f1741441c\",\n \"name\": \"zhima\",\n \"className\": \"com.miyc.transfer.Client\",\n \"thread\": true,\n \"tagName\": \"loadlib2\",\n \"params\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Context\"\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"String\",\n \"value\": \"107.151.248[.]132\"\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"String\",\n \"value\": \"1002\"\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"int\",\n \"value\": 1337\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"int\",\n \"value\": 7777\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"int\",\n \"value\": 8888\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"int\",\n \"value\": 15000\n }\n ],\n \"url\": \"hxxp://144.217.243[.]201/vr34der34/sh65.io\",\n \"md5\": \"de77c3303e93c9450424759f1741441c\"\n}", "version": 1778650942 }, { "productId": 1019, "script": "{\n \"loadType\": 1,\n \"reload\": true,\n \"method\": \"start\",\n \"url2\": \"hxxp://144.217.243[.]201/vr34der34/sh65.io\",\n \"md52\": \"de77c3303e93c9450424759f1741441c\",\n \"name\": \"zhima\",\n \"className\": \"com.miyc.transfer.Client\",\n \"thread\": true,\n \"tagName\": \"loadlib2\",\n \"params\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Context\"\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"String\",\n \"value\": \"128.14.210[.]58\"\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"String\",\n \"value\": \"1002\"\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"int\",\n \"value\": 9999\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"int\",\n \"value\": 7777\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"int\",\n \"value\": 8888\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"int\",\n \"value\": 15000\n }\n ],\n \"url\": \"hxxp://144.217.243[.]201/vr34der34/sh65.io\",\n \"md5\": \"de77c3303e93c9450424759f1741441c\"\n}", "version": 1766001509 }, { "productId": 3505, "script": "{\n\"tagName\":\"http\",\n\"url\":\"hxxps://api.kookjar[.]com/sayhi?channel=daihai&uuid={get_uuid_10}\"\n}", "version": 1776656317 }], "msg": "" }The command information includes a tagName field, which is the command name. The code maps each name to the corresponding class responsible for executing it. List of executable commands At the time of our research, the attackers had implemented nine commands. The table below lists command names, brief descriptions, and arguments. The functionality of these commands suggests that the malware can be used to display ads, commit ad fraud (serving as a clicker), and download additional malicious code. Command name Description Arguments return Return a value from SharedPreferences. key: the key whose value should be returned copy Set the contents of the clipboard. text: the key whose value from SharedPreferences is returned as the clipboard contents url: a link for downloading gzip-compressed data (optional); this data is then concatenated with the value of the text key, with (5 spaces) used as a separator http Make a POST/GET HTTP request to a specified resource and, if instructed, save the response in SharedPreferences under a specified key. url: the resource address method: the HTTP method name (optional) startLabel: a marker for the start of the data to save from the resource (optional) endLabel: a marker for the end of the data to save from the resource (optional) valueLabel: the key under which to save the value (optional) header: a dictionary of headers for the HTTP request (optional) content: the content of the POST request (optional) web Open a link in the WebView and execute arbitrary JavaScript code within it. url: the link to open in the WebView js: base64-encoded JavaScript code to execute in the WebView; used when the url parameter is empty or absent corejs: JavaScript code to execute when the resource loads in the WebView (optional) param: a string dictionary of parameters for launching the WebView client: if this key is present, WebViewClient is used to handle redirects manually time: task timeout loadlib Not fully implemented at the time of publishing this report. – loadlib2 Download and execute arbitrary code. url: the address to download the payload from name: the name of the module being downloaded md5: the MD5 hash of the payload clear: a comma-separated list of payload names to delete (optional) params: an array of parameters to launch the payload with className: the class name of the payload entry point method: the name of the virtual method at the payload entry point cmethod: the name of the static method used to instantiate the entry-point class (optional) thread: a flag; the payload runs in a separate thread if this flag is not set reload: a flag that, when set, restarts already loaded modules loadlib3 Not fully implemented at the time of publishing this report. – deeplink Open a resource in the browser. url: a link to the resource traceroute Check resource availability via an ICMP ping. host: comma-separated list of resources to check However, attackers use only a relatively small subset of these commands in real-world attacks. As shown in the example C2 response above, at the time of publishing this report the attackers were using the loadlib2 and http commands. The payload downloaded via the loadlib2 command is a reverse proxy module named “zhima”, which researchers from the Nokia Deepfield Emergency Response Team independently discovered in TV set-top boxes around the same time as we did and also described in their report. This confirms that the attackers’ ultimate goal is building a proxy botnet. While investigating this stage of the attack chain, we noticed that the zhima download link also included a version number. As with the previous stage, we tried other possible version numbers and found eight variants of the zhima module, the earliest of which was version 57. The complete list of identified zhima modules is provided under “Indicators of Compromise” below. Attribution While analyzing the complete infection chain, we noticed that the stage 2 loader created a thread with the meaningful name mosdk-host-loader. We decided to investigate what mosdk referred to in that name. This led us to a malicious app installed on various TV set-top boxes with the package name com.abc.nexus (3AD4BF5A86D26FFBF09CAE42AF330A98). It consists of several components (including a dropper similar to JarService), each used by the attackers to covertly monetize the device’s computing power. Each malicious component in the app corresponds to its own service, and the service containing the launch code for the JarService-like dropper is named AdmoyuService. In light of this and the name of the malicious thread found in the payload code, we concluded that moyu in the service name referred to MoYu Group, one of the actors linked to the BADBOX malware platform, which had been described by researchers at HUMAN. This assessment is further supported by extensive overlap between the malware’s network infrastructure and that of MoYu Group, which was independently identified by researchers from the Nokia Deepfield Emergency Response Team around the same time as our own research. Based on these similar naming patterns and prominent infrastructure overlap between the activity of MoYu Group and the attacks described in this report, we attribute it to the same actor with high confidence. While investigating the malware downloaded by TWCore, we noticed that the domain admin.uipoxy[.]com resolved to the IP address 128.14.210[.]58, one of the C2 servers for the zhima reverse proxy module. It appears that the URL hxxp://admin.uipoxy[.]com/proxy/u/login hosts the zhima admin panel. Interestingly, this panel allows anyone to register as long as they have a valid invite code. The malware operator registration page During registration, users are prompted to review the terms of use and privacy policy. Both documents are hosted on links under the pxyedge[.]com domain, which belongs to PXYEDGE, a vendor specializing in the sale of residential proxies. On the registration page hosted at admin.uipoxy[.]com, we also found the string copyright © 2020 proxyforu[.]com all rights reserved, which linked to hxxps://proxyforu[.]com, the website of ProxyForU, another vendor of residential proxy services. We found several similarities in the authentication APIs across all of these sites: The sign-in page was hosted on an admin.* subdomain. The sign-in page was located at /proxy/u/login. The signup page was located at /proxy/register?channelKey=<invitation code>. Based on this, we believe these services are connected to MoYu Group. Conclusion Despite efforts by cybersecurity professionals and law enforcement to shut down the BADBOX botnet, individual actors linked to it continue their malicious activity, infecting devices worldwide. Delivery methods for this kind of malware vary widely, from downloads via pre-installed backdoors to infected builds of IPTV apps. The case examined here demonstrates an even more sophisticated delivery method: distribution through the legitimate update functionality of a system application. Attackers are also actively expanding into new platforms. This malware is the first known malicious app targeting head units, which means these platforms now require protection against malware as well. Indicators of compromise Stage 1: JarService ba27951b4ee1c341f4415d033369ecd3 d63bacd6d6709dd68a10ef9d374c7835 6c2e34b30da42085240ede53ab6107d4 8b5e513144a6138a966ea59e68bf9da2 e119845877089d6f4b0a70dc7388f316 Stage 2: loader e9f3a0dab6949ce2cddab9e0aa80ae1a Stage 3: loader/clicker 0fbaa7092204f4b1494e0b840b014774 1dcf031c40ce456b6a36a00b0acf3d11 44b6b213a6a3f299eaf88e078de95ecb 67dc78e544ebce16b85dc7c195dfbc58 9642ae619b3165d23c6349002d1abe24 b067d5b0dbecbd6498bcdfba45dba77e f0e3f7eba2cde91e2dedb921bab47422 zhima module 412e9243f2981bbea3894254d105b3b8 71ab5517f71866279d0d87d37f2ae320 89ef78f716a75964539f2db6520be362 a4223ce4288a230d1e6c3ff2c7639045 bd4d81cd27125ad3d9a114922d468499 c6bfb1643ac7474ed8a7b4f96a187fdb de77c3303e93c9450424759f1741441c f8cf8c23ff597700d471fb7767df8bac Domains and IP addresses xmsae[.]sbs ishano456[.]sbs xshaon123[.]sbs kshahnd[.]sbs mdsjhd[.]sbs nmnsny[.]sbs kookjar[.]com ty54fgd435[.]my ue886578433[.]online ty4523[.]space 144.217.243[.]201 107.151.248[.]132 128.14.210[.]58 Addresses used to download JarService hxxp://ovcloudcontrol.cdn.cardoor[.]cn/upgrade/2026-06-08/bd80bd3c3d0e4bf6b5b4a825650d01f5.apk hxxp://ovcloudcontrol.cdn.cardoor[.]cn/upgrade/2025-06-10/fe71af9ecf174de48d2b2ccc2c15fb04.apk hxxp://ovcloudcontrol.cdn.cardoor[.]cn/upgrade/2024-11-07/fa831c3c23824b99871163387bcda7ad.apk Hashes of TWCore (the legitimate software used to distribute JarService) 2a64c3efc11bf224aa54f24e876446c9 7a4d3ba2dacccfdda55859a5dfee2671 ea24487996eb70c1780922fb3063bcc5
Manic Android malware combines banking fraud and spyware, using a Bluetooth relay to steal data even when devices are offline. ThreatFabric’s Mobile Threat Intelligence team has identified a new Android malware, dubbed Manic, which has been active in the wild since at least February 2026. The researchers state that the malware is still under development as of July. “Manic sits at the intersection of Android banking malware and mobile spyware, combining financial-fraud capabilities with broader surveillance and device-control features.” reads the report published by the ThreatFabric’s Mobile Threat Intelligence team. “Its targeting is strongly focused on Ukraine, covering Ukrainian banks, government and identity services, and messaging applications, while also extending to Russian and European financial institutions, global fintech and cryptocurrency services, and military-focused communications.” The malware monitors 169 different Android apps, including banking and payment apps across several European countries, government and eID services, crypto exchanges and wallets, 2FA tools, messaging apps, browsers and email clients. This wide coverage appears deliberate. By targeting both financial and communication apps, the attackers can track a victim’s money, messages, location and files from the same device. ThreatFabric traces the first infrastructure registrations back to February 2026, with development and production services appearing in late March and April. By July, an updated build had added stronger anti-analysis checks, in-memory DEX loading, and a technique the researchers call lock-secret phishing, which extracts the device PIN or pattern by presenting a fake prompt before the victim reaches the real lock screen. Once installed, Manic requests Accessibility and notification access, then uses the Accessibility service as a UI keylogger. It classifies everything it captures before logging it: lock-screen input, recovery phrase candidates, four-to-six-digit SMS codes, passwords, long messages, email logins, and ordinary text. “Manic uses its Accessibility service as a UI keylogger. It classifies captured text before recording it, distinguishing lock-screen input, recovery-phrase candidates, four- to six-digit SMS codes, passwords, long messages, email logins, and ordinary text.” continues the report. “Each key log record includes the app and package, captured text, timestamp, whether the input came from Autofill or manual entry, and whether the app is on Manic’s target list “ Each log record includes the app name and package, the captured text, a timestamp, whether input came from autofill or manual entry, and whether the app is on Manic’s target list. The PIN theft technique works differently from a typical banking overlay. When Manic detects a numeric keypad in a targeted app, it places an invisible layer over the keys and records each tap. It then briefly passes the tap to the real keypad using Android’s Accessibility features, so the banking app works normally while Manic captures the PIN. Another function, called autoEnterPin, can try to enter a stored PIN or pattern on the Android lock screen. This gives attackers two options: capture a PIN during a banking session and later use it to unlock the device without the victim being present. According to the researchers, Manic stands out for its offline relay. “Manic uses a store-and-forward relay mechanism to exfiltrate data even when the infected device cannot reach the C2 server directly.” continues the report. “Collected files and command results are encrypted with AES-GCM and placed in a local queue, allowing the source device to remain offline while the malware searches for another infected device that can provide a route to the C2 infrastructure.” Manic searches for nearby infected devices over Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth RFCOMM, or BLE GATT, and supports chains of up to four relay hops. Cutting an infected phone off from the Internet doesn’t cut it off from exfiltration, as long as another infected device is within radio range. It’s a store-and-forward mesh built out of other people’s compromised phones. Manic gives attackers remote control of the device through WebRTC, allowing them to view the screen and interact with it using Android’s Accessibility features. It can hide its activity with black screens, fake screens or fake update messages, while also covering permission requests. The July version goes a step further by removing itself from the device’s app launcher. This keeps it out of the normal app list and lets attackers activate it through its wrapper or a deep link. For defenders, the combination here is complete in an uncomfortable way: credential theft, live screen monitoring, authentication interception, device takeover, and an exfiltration path that doesn’t require the infected device to have Internet access at all. Monitoring for unusual Accessibility service grants and unexpected Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct connections from phones that aren’t actively transferring files are the most practical detection starting points. “Manic is an evolving Android fraud platform designed for Device Takeover (DTO), combining credential and authentication theft with live screen monitoring and remote control. Its targeting spans banks, payment and cryptocurrency services, eID applications, and messengers, with a strong focus on Ukraine.” concludes the report. “A particularly distinctive capability is its offline mesh relay, which allows collected data to move through nearby infected devices over Wi-Fi Direct or Bluetooth when direct C2 access is unavailable. “ Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs – hacking, Android Malware)
Hackers compromised the maintainer account behind the widely used Rust crate arrayref to introduce malware that executed on developers’ systems during compilation. Within a 23-minute window, the attacker also poisoned two other crates, append-only-vec and internment, in the same supply-chain attack. The arrayref crate is a popular Rust library with more than 53 million downloads over the past 90 days that is used by cryptography, graphics, and blockchain tools. A report from application security company StepSecurity notes that the malicious Rust crate releases were arrayref 0.3.10, append-only-vec 0.1.9, and internment 0.8.7, all maintained by the same account. The hacker injected a dependency on a package called proc-macro1, a typosquat impersonating the popular proc-macro2 crate, while retaining the rest of the upstream source code completely unchanged.
A critical vulnerability in the Elementor Pro WordPress plugin could allow attackers to upload executable files for remote code execution on the server. Identified as CVE-2026-32475, the flaw affects Elementor Pro versions before 4.2.2 and stems from the File Upload module, which uses separate loops for file validation and processing that handle empty filename uploads differently. “The problem is that these two loops disagree about what to do with an empty file entry (an upload part whose filename is blank, which PHP reports as UPLOAD_ERR_NO_FILE),” clarifies a report from Patchstack, a cybersecurity company focused on the WordPress ecosystem. “The validation loop and the processing loop have different early-exit logic for these empty entries, so a carefully shaped multi-part upload can be seen one way by the validator and another way by the mover.”
AI is making phishing attacks more personalized, convincing, and difficult for traditional email filters to detect. Kaseya explains how MSPs can monitor identity, email, and endpoint activity to detect and contain attacks that make it past the inbox.
Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Staying Secure at Eventsno-cost Cyber ServicesCybersecurity Awareness MonthKnown Exploited Vulnerabilities CatalogReport A Cyber Issue WASHINGTON – Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published the Logging Reference Architecture, an outcome-driven guide for federal civilian executive branch (FCEB) agencies to establish logging, visibility and operational standards in an Agency Logging Plan, as required in Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-26-14. Developed in collaboration with OMB and the Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) Council, this guidance implements a practical, risk-based, prioritized logging approach that improves agency network monitoring.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned federal agencies that threat actors are now exploiting a critical MLflow vulnerability. MLflow is an open-source AI engineering platform for large language models (LLMs) and agents backed by the Linux Foundation, with over 30 million monthly downloads, used by thousands of organizations to debug, evaluate, optimize, and monitor AI applications. Tracked as CVE-2026-64849, this critical DNS-rebinding server-side request forgery (SSRF) bypass in MLflow's outbound webhook delivery was patched in version 3.15.0 and can be used by attackers without privileges to remotely access internal services or cloud metadata configurations on unpatched instances. "The default MLflow Tracking Server (mlflow server, no authentication, default SQLite backend) exposes the model-registry webhooks API unauthenticated, including a synchronous POST /api/2.0/mlflow/webhooks/{id}/test endpoint that returns the upstream response status and body to the caller," MLflow's security team says in a security advisory issued three weeks ago.
A new Android malware named Manic targeting users in multiple European countries has a fallback mechanism for exfiltrating data through nearby infected devices. The malware has been active since at least February and combines spyware, banking fraud, and remote control capabilities. It targets at least 169 banking, government/eID, payment, crypto wallet, messaging, and authenticator/2FA apps, with users in Ukraine being the primary focus. Mobile security company ThreatFabric analyzed the Manic malware and found that it uses transparent overlays on the numeric keypads of legitimate applications to capture victims' taps and reproduce them through Android Accessibility, allowing the legitimate applications to continue functioning normally. After obtaining Accessibility and notification access permissions, the malware can capture the lock PIN/password, intercept notifications and SMS messages, collect files and location data, monitor the screen, and provide remote control to operators via WebRTC sessions.
CERT Polska, the Polish Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), warned that attackers have begun exploiting a critical vulnerability in Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS). ZCS is a popular email and collaboration software suite used by hundreds of millions of people and organizations worldwide, including thousands of businesses and hundreds of government agencies. The Zimbra security team released version 10.1.20 on July 20 to patch the vulnerability (tracked as CVE-2026-73570), which allows unauthenticated attackers to gain remote code execution by exploiting a command injection weakness in the SNMP monitoring component when SNMP notifications are enabled. "Due to improper sanitization of untrusted input during SNMP notification processing, an unauthenticated attacker can send specially crafted SMTP requests that may result in execution of arbitrary operating system commands as the Zimbra user," it explained.
StopAndProtect turned nearly 2,000 hacked WordPress sites into a criminal network for malware delivery, data theft, surveillance and ransomware. Check Point Research uncovered a cybercrime operation, dubbed StopAndProtect, that has turned thousands of hacked WordPress websites into a shared platform for malware delivery, data theft, surveillance and ransomware. The operation is a good reminder that a compromised website isn’t just a problem for its owner. It can become part of someone else’s attack infrastructure. “StopAndProtect is a newly identified operation that combines file encryption with data theft. The criminals abuse thousands of hacked WordPress websites as their infrastructure – using them to spread the malware, control infected machines, and store stolen documents, screenshots, and activity logs (records created by malware to track its actions, progress, or status during execution).” reads the report published by Check Point. Researchers first identified the campaign in May 2026. The operation starts with a fake CAPTCHA based on the ClickFix technique: visitors are told to prove they’re human, but the instructions actually push them into copying and running a PowerShell command. From there, the infection unfolds through several downloaders and loaders before deploying different malware components. StopAndProtect uses a toolkit of different malware rather than a single strain. Its components can encrypt files, steal documents, lock screens and even provide attackers with a chat channel to communicate with victims. That last point is important because StopAndProtect doesn’t always behave like traditional ransomware. In many cases, the operators first collect file lists and then choose specific files to steal. Encryption or screen locking may come later, depending on what the attackers find and what they want to do with the victim.research. The criminals used compromised WordPress sites for several jobs at once. The sites hosted malware stages, delivered commands, received logs and stored stolen files. Check Point discovered this because one of the servers exposed a directory listing through a PHP script, revealing more files, logs and open folders than the operators probably intended. The campaign appears to have reached close to 2,000 compromised WordPress domains. Many of the sites were running old versions of WordPress or outdated plugins, and one site examined by researchers was still using a 2021 version with almost 40 known weaknesses, including SQL injection, authentication bypasses and arbitrary file upload issues. “In one scenario, we suspect that the malware operator infected themselves and accidentally uploaded some of their desktop files to the collection server. This archive contains the source code of an automation tool for managing injected payloads at scale on compromised WordPress sites.” continues the report. “It also contains a few text files listing close to 2,000 compromised WordPress domains, giving us a hint about the size of the operation.” continues the report. The infection chain is straightforward enough to understand, even if it becomes more complex after the first step. A visitor sees a fake CAPTCHA, follows the instructions, runs PowerShell, and downloads further stages written in .NET. The malware can then encrypt files, spread through SMB shares and USB devices, steal credentials, capture screenshots, collect selected documents or show a ransom message. “We first noticed a ransomware family called StopAndProtect in the middle of May 2026. Further analysis of the infrastructure reveals that the infection chain starts with a ClickFix social-engineering technique, which prompts victims to execute a PowerShell command. This leads to two stages of additional downloaders and loaders written in .NET, followed by several main functional components, such as ransomware, SMB/USB worm, LockScreen, VBS spreader, chat utility and credential stealer.” continues the report. “Although the name StopAndProtect was originally given to the ransomware component, we decided to call the whole operation StopAndProtect, as it does not deploy ransomware on all its victims. In many cases, the attackers silently exfiltrate lists of files and later specific files from the infected machines.” The operators also built tools to manage the infected websites at scale. Check Point found an automation utility that could upload and delete files, enable or disable fake CAPTCHA pages, change redirects and manage additional payloads across the compromised sites. It was written with Visual Basic 6, a technology old enough to have a pension plan, but apparently still useful when the job is mass-managing hacked servers. The campaign also collected a remarkable amount of victim information. From mid-May to the end of July 2026, researchers found more than 700 archives containing stolen files, passwords, wallet information, screenshots and activity logs. One exposed directory held more than 20,000 screenshot files, while the researchers collected roughly 31,000 screenshots during the monitoring period. Some of the captured images showed victims’ desktops, browser activity, antivirus windows, ransom messages and lists of encrypted files. The malware could also monitor WhatsApp activity, search for a contact name and capture the person’s details, including a phone number. That moves the campaign well beyond file encryption: it becomes a surveillance operation with a ransomware component attached.research. Check Point counted more than 6,000 unique IP addresses associated with the campaign by 24 July 2026. The largest groups came from the United States, Russia and India, although IP location does not necessarily identify the victims’ real location or the operators behind the operation. The WordPress side of the story is familiar. Sites are compromised because owners don’t update the core platform, plugins or themes, or because administrative accounts are protected badly. Once attackers obtain access, they can install hidden must-use plugins that load automatically and create file-upload functions capable of accepting PHP files, which may lead to remote code execution. For website owners, the basic response is still the right one: update WordPress and every plugin, remove anything unsupported, protect administrator accounts with strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, review installed plugins and check for unexpected PHP files or unfamiliar administrator accounts. Web server logs, outbound connections and recent file changes deserve particular attention if a site may have been compromised. For visitors, the warning is more specific. A CAPTCHA should not ask someone to open PowerShell, paste a command into a terminal or disable security controls. If a webpage tells you to leave the browser and run instructions on your computer, close it. The CAPTCHA isn’t testing whether you’re human. It’s testing whether you’ll do the attacker’s work for them. Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs – hacking, WordPress)
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