• 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

Orange reports major cyberattack, warns of service disruptions

 | 

Hackers leak images and comments from women dating safety app Tea

 | 

Pro-Ukraine hacktivists claim cyberattack on Russian Airline Aeroflot that caused the cancellation of +100 flights

 | 

Seychelles Commercial Bank Reported Cybersecurity Incident

 | 

Microsoft uncovers macOS flaw allowing bypass TCC protections and exposing sensitive data

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Cisco ISE and PaperCut NG/MF flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Critical WordPress Post SMTP plugin flaw exposes 200K+ sites to full takeover

 | 

Scattered Spider targets VMware ESXi in using social engineering

 | 

China-linked group Fire Ant exploits VMware and F5 flaws since early 2025

 | 

Allianz Life data breach exposed the data of most of its 1.4M customers

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 55

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 534 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

Law enforcement operations seized BlackSuit ransomware gang’s darknet sites

 | 

Arizona woman sentenced for aiding North Korea in U.S. IT job fraud scheme

 | 

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

 | 
  • 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
  • Malware
  • Experts spotted a new stealthy Linux malware dubbed Shikitega

Experts spotted a new stealthy Linux malware dubbed Shikitega

Pierluigi Paganini September 07, 2022

A new Linux malware dubbed Shikitega leverages a multi-stage infection chain to target endpoints and IoT devices.

Researchers from AT&T Alien Labs discovered a new piece of stealthy Linux malware, dubbed Shikitega, that targets endpoints and IoT devices. The malware outstands for its multistage infection chain, threat actors use it to can gain full control of the system and carry out other malicious activities, including cryptocurrency mining.

Shikitega is able to download next-stage payloads from a C2 server and execute them directly in memory, which makes it highly evasive.

The experts reported that the malware downloads and executes Metasploit’s “Mettle” meterpreter to take over infected machines.

Shikitega exploits vulnerabilities to elevate privileges and maintain persistence, the researchers observed that it uses a polymorphic encoder to avoid detection by anti-virus engines.

Shikitega

The main dropper of the malware is a small ELF file (370 bytes in size), while the size of the actual code is around 300 bytes.

“The malware uses the “Shikata Ga Nai” polymorphic XOR additive feedback encoder, which is one of the most popular encoders used in Metasploit. Using the encoder, the malware runs through several decode loops, where one loop decodes the next layer, until the final shellcode payload is decoded and executed.” reads the analysis published by AT&T Alien Labs. “After several decryption loops, the final payload shellcode will be decrypted and executed.”

Once the malware was installed on a targeted host, it downloads and executes the Metasploit’s “Mettle” meterpreter to maximize the control over the system and perform multiple operations.

The findings add to a growing list of Linux malware that has been found in the wild in recent months, including BPFDoor, Symbiote, Syslogk, OrBit, and Lightning Framework.

The malware achieves privilege escalation by exploiting CVE-2021-4034 (aka PwnKit) and CVE-2021-3493. The malware leverages the exploit to download and execute the final stage with root privileges – persistence and the payload of the malware.

“Threat actors continue to search for ways to deliver malware in new ways to stay under the radar and avoid detection. Shiketega malware is delivered in a sophisticated way, it uses a polymorphic encoder, and it gradually delivers its payload where each step reveals only part of the total payload. In addition, the malware abuses known hosting services to host its command and control servers. Stay safe!” concludes the report.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook

[adrotate banner=”9″][adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Log4Shell)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

Cybercrime Hacking hacking news information security news malware Pierluigi Paganini Security Affairs Security News Shikitega

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 29, 2025
Orange reports major cyberattack, warns of service disruptions
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 29, 2025
Hackers leak images and comments from women dating safety app Tea
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

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

    recent articles

    Orange reports major cyberattack, warns of service disruptions

    Security / July 29, 2025

    Hackers leak images and comments from women dating safety app Tea

    Data Breach / July 29, 2025

    Pro-Ukraine hacktivists claim cyberattack on Russian Airline Aeroflot that caused the cancellation of +100 flights

    Hacktivism / July 29, 2025

    Seychelles Commercial Bank Reported Cybersecurity Incident

    Data Breach / July 29, 2025

    Microsoft uncovers macOS flaw allowing bypass TCC protections and exposing sensitive data

    Hacking / July 29, 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