• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

ShadowLeak: Radware Uncovers Zero-Click Attack on ChatGPT

 | 

SonicWall warns customers to reset credentials after MySonicWall backups were exposed

 | 

CVE-2025-10585 is the sixth actively exploited Chrome zero-day patched by Google in 2025

 | 

Jaguar Land Rover will extend its production halt into a third week following a cyberattack

 | 

China-linked APT41 targets government, think tanks, and academics tied to US-China trade and policy

 | 

Microsoft and Cloudflare teamed up to dismantle the RaccoonO365 phishing service

 | 

DoJ resentenced former BreachForums admin to three years in prison

 | 

Apple backports fix for actively exploited CVE-2025-43300

 | 

New supply chain attack hits npm registry, compromising 40+ packages

 | 

Cybercrime group accessed Google Law Enforcement Request System (LERS)

 | 

China-linked Mustang Panda deploys advanced SnakeDisk USB worm

 | 

Insider breach at FinWise Bank exposes data of 689,000 AFF customers

 | 

Hackers steal millions of Gucci, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen customer records

 | 

Fairmont Federal Credit Union 2023 data breach impacted 187K people

 | 

UK ICO finds students behind majority of school data breaches

 | 

INC ransom group claimed the breach of Panama’s Ministry of Economy and Finance

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 62

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 541 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

ShinyHunters Attack National Credit Information Center of Vietnam

 | 

FBI warns of Salesforce attacks by UNC6040 and UNC6395 groups

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Cyber Crime
  • Hacking
  • Malware
  • Security
  • Node.js malvertising campaign targets crypto users

Node.js malvertising campaign targets crypto users

Pierluigi Paganini April 17, 2025

Microsoft warns of a malvertising campaign using Node.js to deliver info-stealing malware via fake crypto trading sites like Binance and TradingView.

Microsoft has observed Node.js increasingly used in malware campaigns since October 2024, including an ongoing crypto-themed malvertising attack as of April 2025.

Threat actors are increasingly using Node.js to deploy malware, shifting from traditional scripts like Python or PHP. Node.js allows attackers to blend malicious code with legitimate apps, bypass security tools, and persist in systems. Node.js is an open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment that allows JavaScript code to run outside of a web browser. Though less common today, Node.js-based threats are becoming a notable part of the evolving attack landscape.

In April Node.js attacks, threat actors use malvertising to lure users to fake sites offering malicious installers disguised as legitimate software. Once executed, the installer drops a malicious DLL (“CustomActions.dll”) that collects system data via WMI, ensures persistence via scheduled tasks, and uses PowerShell commands for defense evasion and further payload delivery.

Then the DLL launches a decoy by opening an msedge_proxy window that displays a legitimate cryptocurrency trading website.

“The created scheduled task runs PowerShell commands designed to exclude both the PowerShell process and the current directory from being scanned by Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.” reads the report published by Microsoft. “This action prevents subsequent PowerShell executions from being flagged, allowing the attack to continue undisturbed.”

This attack uses obfuscated PowerShell scripts to fetch code from remote URLs, gather detailed system and BIOS info, package it as JSON, and send it to the attacker’s C2 server.

In this attack phase, a PowerShell script downloads an archive from the command-and-control server containing the Node.js runtime and a compiled JavaScript file. The Node.js executable runs the script, which establishes network connections and likely extracts sensitive browser data.

Another notable technique observed by researchers in recent campaign employs inline JavaScript execution via Node.js to deploy malicious payloads. In a documented instance, attackers used a ClickFix social engineering tactic to trick users into running a PowerShell command that downloads and installs Node.js components. The script then executes JavaScript directly through Node.js, enabling network reconnaissance, disguising command-and-control traffic as legitimate Cloudflare activity, and achieving persistence by modifying registry run keys.

Microsoft also provided a set of recommendations to mitigate threats associated with Node.js misuse.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, newsletter)


facebook linkedin twitter

Cybercrime Hacking hacking news information security news IT Information Security malvertising malware Node.js Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini September 18, 2025
ShadowLeak: Radware Uncovers Zero-Click Attack on ChatGPT
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini September 18, 2025
SonicWall warns customers to reset credentials after MySonicWall backups were exposed
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    ShadowLeak: Radware Uncovers Zero-Click Attack on ChatGPT

    Hacking / September 18, 2025

    SonicWall warns customers to reset credentials after MySonicWall backups were exposed

    Data Breach / September 18, 2025

    CVE-2025-10585 is the sixth actively exploited Chrome zero-day patched by Google in 2025

    Uncategorized / September 18, 2025

    Jaguar Land Rover will extend its production halt into a third week following a cyberattack

    Security / September 18, 2025

    China-linked APT41 targets government, think tanks, and academics tied to US-China trade and policy

    APT / September 17, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT