• 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

Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

 | 

Unpatched flaw in EoL LG LNV5110R cameras lets hackers gain Admin access

 | 

Koske, a new AI-Generated Linux malware appears in the threat landscape

 | 

Mitel patches critical MiVoice MX-ONE Auth bypass flaw

 | 

Coyote malware is first-ever malware abusing Windows UI Automation

 | 

SonicWall fixed critical flaw in SMA 100 devices exploited in Overstep malware attacks

 | 

DSPM & AI Are Booming: $17.87B and $4.8T Markets by 2033

 | 

Stealth backdoor found in WordPress mu-Plugins folder

 | 

U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Sophos fixed two critical Sophos Firewall vulnerabilities

 | 

French Authorities confirm XSS.is admin arrested in Ukraine

 | 

Microsoft linked attacks on SharePoint flaws to China-nexus actors

 | 

Cisco confirms active exploitation of ISE and ISE-PIC flaws

 | 

SharePoint under fire: new ToolShell attacks target enterprises

 | 

CrushFTP zero-day actively exploited at least since July 18

 | 

Hardcoded credentials found in HPE Aruba Instant On Wi-Fi devices

 | 

MuddyWater deploys new DCHSpy variants amid Iran-Israel conflict

 | 

U.S. CISA urges to immediately patch Microsoft SharePoint flaw adding it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Microsoft issues emergency patches for SharePoint zero-days exploited in "ToolShell" attacks

 | 
  • 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
  • Malware
  • Sundown Exploit Kit now leverages on the steganography

Sundown Exploit Kit now leverages on the steganography

Pierluigi Paganini December 30, 2016

A new variant of the Sundown exploit kit leverages on steganography to hide exploit code in harmless-looking image files.

Security experts from Trend Micro have spotted a new version of the Sundown exploit kit that exploits steganography in order to hide malicious code in harmless-looking image files.

The use of steganography was recently observed in the malvertising campaigns conducted by the AdGholas and GooNky groups.

The GooNky group leveraged on steganography to hide malvertising traffic, while AdGholas has used a more sophisticated technique leveraging the Stegano exploit kit.

Crooks encoded a script in the alpha channel of an image to deliver the malicious code via rogue ads that looked like legitimate.

Earlier in December, researchers from ESET discovered that Stegano hide portions of its malicious code in parameters controlling the transparency of pixels used to display banner ads, but the impact of the appearance of the images is almost imperceptible.

“The malicious version of the graphic has a script encoded in its alpha channel, which defines the transparency of each pixel. Since the modification is minor, the final picture’s color tone is only slightly different to that of the clean version” reads the analysis published by ESET.

A similar technique has been observed for a new version of the Sundown EK spotted by the researchers at Trend Micro on December 27.

“On December 27, 2016, we noticed that Sundown was updated to use similar techniques. The PNG files weren’t just used to store harvested information; the malware designers now used steganography to hide their exploit code.” reads the analysis published by Trend Micro.

The updated version of Sundown has been used in several malvertising campaigns, mostly targeting users in Japan, Canada, France and the US.

“The newly updated exploit kit was used by multiple malvertising campaigns to distribute malware. The most affected countries were Japan, Canada, and France, though Japanese users accounted for more than 30% of the total targets.”

 

Sundown exploit kit

 

The new Sundown EK leverages on hidden iframes that automatically connects to a page hosting the Sundown EK. The page downloads a white PNG image and decodes malicious code it contains.

“In this updated version, the exploit kit’s malvertisement creates a hidden iframe that automatically connects to the Sundown landing page,” continues the post.“The page will retrieve and download a white PNG image. It then decodes the data in this PNG file to obtain additional malicious code.”

Researchers from Trend Micro leveraged on malicious code to trigger Internet Explorer flaws CVE-2015-2419 and CVE-2016-0189, and the Flash Player flaw tracked as CVE-2016-4117.

The researchers observed threat actors leveraging on the Sundown EK to deliver the Chthonic banking Trojan, a variant of the infamous Zeus malware, that was used by crooks in a PayPal scam in July.

The Sundown EK ranks today at the second place, behind RIG EK that is the most used crimeware kit in the criminal ecosystem.

According to security experts from Cisco Talos, threat actors behind the Sundown exploit kit leverage on an infrastructure composed of 80,000 malicious subdomains associated with more than 500 domains.

The experts observed that crooks behind the Sundown EK are using wildcards for subdomains which are exponentially growing the number of routes for malicious traffic to servers hosting the dreaded exploit kit.

[adrotate banner=”9″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Steganography,  Sundown exploit kit)


facebook linkedin twitter

Cybercrime malware Stegano steganography Sundown exploit kit

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 25, 2025
Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 25, 2025
Unpatched flaw in EoL LG LNV5110R cameras lets hackers gain Admin access
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

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

    recent articles

    Operation CargoTalon targets Russia’s aerospace with EAGLET malware,

    Intelligence / July 25, 2025

    Unpatched flaw in EoL LG LNV5110R cameras lets hackers gain Admin access

    Security / July 25, 2025

    Koske, a new AI-Generated Linux malware appears in the threat landscape

    Malware / July 25, 2025

    Mitel patches critical MiVoice MX-ONE Auth bypass flaw

    Security / July 25, 2025

    Coyote malware is first-ever malware abusing Windows UI Automation

    Malware / July 24, 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