Sunday, February 9, 2025
HomeMalwareMalicious Android ads leads to Automatically Download and Install Apps that Contain...

Malicious Android ads leads to Automatically Download and Install Apps that Contain Malware in Android Devices

Published on

SIEM as a Service

Follow Us on Google News

Malicious Android Apps are growing rapidly and it used to target victims in Many ways. Spreading Malware through malvertising campaign in Popular Forum Leads to automatically downloading Android apps by advertisements posted on forums.

This malvertising campaign Found in on of the Forum called “GodLikeProductions,” where used Reported about automatically apps are downloading when users visit the Forum.

Forums Hosts have randomly removed the visitors Complaints messages about this Malicious Advertisement which leads to Download the Malware Apps.

Also Read A Malvertiser called “RoughTed” Bypass Ad-blocker and Get Half a Billion visits in 3 Months
Malicious Android ads leads to Malware auto Installation

Malicious Downloaded APK from Forum

Researchers From zscaler Discovered, the APK file called “ kskas.Apk,”  and the App name Mentioned as “Ks Clean,” which used to Automatically downloaded form the  “GodLikeProductions,”   forum.

Once this APK Automatically installed into victims Android Device, its asked to update the used by Displaying te fake system update pop-up.

This system updates popup only option presented to the user is to select the “OK” button, forcing the user to accept the message.

Also Read Beware: Malicious Payload “Hworm” Dropped Through Embedded Youtube Video’s
Malicious Android ads leads to Malware auto Installation
Malicious Android ads leads to Malware auto Installation

Once Victims Pressed the “OK” Button, its promote into installing another Malicious APK file called “UPDATE”  This APK is stored locally inside the assets directory of the app. Once installed, the Update app immediately asks for Admin rights.

Malicious Android ads leads to Malware auto Installation

According to the Zscaler,”Once the app gains admin rights, it becomes impossible to remove it from the device. The traditional “Uninstall” option, by default, becomes disabled, because a user cannot remove apps with admin rights. Usually, one can uninstall such apps by first removing admin privileges via settings, but this app uses an unconventional method — registering as an Android receiver — to preserve its admin privileges.”

This malicious App Stats that, Once Victims tried to uninstall this app, suddenly phone gets locked for few seconds.

Some other suspicious activities, including:

  • Mount/Unmount filesystems
  • Read/Write bookmarks history
  • Overlay system window
  • Write Settings
  • Download Without Notification
AlsoRead 200 Million Downloaded video players including VLC Player are vulnerable to Malicious subtitles Attack -A Complete Takeover Attack
Balaji
Balaji
BALAJI is an Ex-Security Researcher (Threat Research Labs) at Comodo Cybersecurity. Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder - Cyber Security News & GBHackers On Security.

Latest articles

UK Pressures Apple to Create Global Backdoor To Spy on Encrypted iCloud Access

United Kingdom has reportedly ordered Apple to create a backdoor allowing access to all...

Autonomous LLMs Reshaping Pen Testing: Real-World AD Breaches and the Future of Cybersecurity

Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming penetration testing (pen testing), leveraging their advanced reasoning...

Securing GAI-Driven Semantic Communications: A Novel Defense Against Backdoor Attacks

Semantic communication systems, powered by Generative AI (GAI), are transforming the way information is...

Cybercriminals Target IIS Servers to Spread BadIIS Malware

A recent wave of cyberattacks has revealed the exploitation of Microsoft Internet Information Services...

Supply Chain Attack Prevention

Free Webinar - Supply Chain Attack Prevention

Recent attacks like Polyfill[.]io show how compromised third-party components become backdoors for hackers. PCI DSS 4.0’s Requirement 6.4.3 mandates stricter browser script controls, while Requirement 12.8 focuses on securing third-party providers.

Join Vivekanand Gopalan (VP of Products – Indusface) and Phani Deepak Akella (VP of Marketing – Indusface) as they break down these compliance requirements and share strategies to protect your applications from supply chain attacks.

Discussion points

Meeting PCI DSS 4.0 mandates.
Blocking malicious components and unauthorized JavaScript execution.
PIdentifying attack surfaces from third-party dependencies.
Preventing man-in-the-browser attacks with proactive monitoring.

More like this

Cybercriminals Target IIS Servers to Spread BadIIS Malware

A recent wave of cyberattacks has revealed the exploitation of Microsoft Internet Information Services...

Hackers Leveraging Image & Video Attachments to Deliver Malware

Cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting image and video files to deliver malware, leveraging advanced techniques...

Hackers Exploiting SimpleHelp Vulnerabilities to Deploy Malware on Systems

Cybercriminals are actively exploiting vulnerabilities in SimpleHelp Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) software to...