A new attack campaign abuses the appxbundle format used by the Windows 10 (opens in new tab) app installer, in order to deliver malware (opens in new tab) via highly targeted spam campaigns, shares researchers.
Cybersecurity (opens in new tab) sleuths from Sophos (opens in new tab) said they became aware of the campaign after one of its own employees was targeted with the spam email that used social engineering techniques to get victims to open a URL.
Through a novel delivery mechanism, the link led to a malicious payload, which the researchers claim belongs to a malware family variously known as BazarBackdoor and BazarLoader, in order to prep the victim’s computer for future attacks.
Novel delivery mechanism
In their breakdown of the delivery mechanism, the researchers note that instead of directing potential victims to a website, the phishing (opens in new tab) lure instead asks the web browser (opens in new tab) to invoke a tool that’s used by the Windows Store (opens in new tab) application, called AppInstaller.exe, to download and execute “whatever’s on the other end of that link.”
The researchers note that the attackers used two different web addresses for hosting this fake page in Microsoft’s cloud storage service (opens in new tab), most likely in a bid to lend it some authenticity.
Once the campaign manages to install the BazarBackdoor malware it profiles the system, identifies its public facing IP address, and relays this information to its command and control (C2) server. The backdoor is now all set to receive further malicious payloads.
“Spamming a security company with malicious emails featuring a novel attack technique might not have been the best decision by the operators,” said Andrew Brandt, principal researcher at Sophos.
He adds that malware that comes in application installer bundles is not commonly seen in attacks. However, now that the technique has been demonstrated, the researchers expect it to “attract wider interest” from both sides of the fence.
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