Pierluigi Paganini December 01, 2016

Experts from the security firm CheckPoint have discovered dozens of legitimate-looking Android apps containing the Gooligan malware. These mobile apps were available for the download on third-party stores, but experts also highlighted that the malware could be downloaded users directly by tapping malicious links embedded in malicious messages.

Once the malware is installed it start sending device information and stolen data to the C&C server.

“Gooligan then downloads a rootkit from the C&C server that takes advantage of multiple Android 4 and 5 exploits including the well-known VROOT (CVE-2013-6282) and Towelroot (CVE-2014-3153),” added the researcher.

“These exploits still plague many devices today because security patches that fix them may not be available for some versions of Android, or the patches were never installed by the user. If rooting is successful, the attacker has full control of the device and can execute privileged commands remotely. If rooting is successful, the attacker has full control of the device and can execute privileged commands remotely.”

Experts from CheckPoint security confirmed that older versions of the Android operating system are affected by the issue, including Android 4.x (Jelly Bean, KitKat) and 5.x, (Lollipop) (roughly 74% of Android devices currently in use).

The crooks could rapidly monetize their efforts because Gooligan generates revenues by fraudulently buying and installing apps from the official Google Play Store and rating them and writing reviews on behalf of the phone’s owner. The malicious code also installs adware on the victims’ mobile devices.